Early life adversity influences the diurnal cortisol rhythm, yet the relative influence of different characteristics of adversity remains unknown. In this study, we examine how developmental timing (childhood vs. adolescence), severity (major vs. minor), and domain of early life adversity relate to diurnal cortisol rhythms in late adolescence. We…

BACKGROUND: Research indicates that victimization exposures are associated with sexual risk-taking behaviors, but there is a relative lack of research on the relation between peer victimization and sexual risk taking among adolescents. This study fills this gap through examining how bullying, cyberbullying, and dating violence victimization at…

Community violence exposure (CVE) is associated with numerous psychosocial outcomes among youth. Although linear, cumulative effects models have typically been used to describe these relations, emerging evidence suggests the presence of curvilinear associations that may represent a pattern of emotional desensitization among youth exposed to…

Self-efficacy beliefs are central to mental health. Because adolescents' neighborhoods shape opportunities for experiences of control, predictability, and safety, we propose that neighborhood conditions are associated with adolescents' self-efficacy and, in turn, their internalizing problems (i.e., depression/anxiety symptoms). We tested these…

This study used data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, a multilevel, longitudinal study of children sampled from 80 diverse neighborhoods, to explore associations among changes in neighborhood poverty from 1990 to 2000 and changes in youth's internalizing problems and property and violent offenses over 6 years (N =…

Using longitudinal data from a subsample of Hispanic, African American, and White youth enrolled in the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (N = 1,419), we examined the effects of both parental involvement in domestic violence and youth participation in organized out-of-school-time activities on internalizing symptoms during…

This article used the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) data to examine the relationship between exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and child behavior problems (externalizing and internalizing), truancy, grade repetition, smoking, drinking, and use of marijuana. Longitudinal data analysis was conducted on 1,816…

Objectives: This study compares the effects of childhood maltreatment and adolescent maltreatment on delinquency and crime, including violent and nonviolent offending. Methods: Data were derived from the Chicago Longitudinal Study, a prospective investigation of 1,539 underprivileged, minority subjects. Results: Results confirmed that rates of…

Objectives: To determine whether traumatic experiences of children entering the child welfare system have an impact on their risk behaviors and whether these behaviors are moderated by children's strengths. Method: The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services administered the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) measure to…

Research suggests that child maltreatment predicts juvenile violence, but it is uncertain whether the effects of victimization persist into adulthood or differ across gender. Furthermore, we know little about the mechanisms underlying the victim-perpetrator cycle for males and females. Consequently, this study analyzed associations between child…

This study examines the relationship between dating violence, forced sexual intercourse (FSI), and four measures of sexual risk taking (i.e., age at first sex, number of recent (within the last three months) sex partners, alcohol/drug use at last sex, and condom use at last sex) among a sample of 1124 ethnically diverse sexually active adolescents…

Much research has argued for the existence of a marriage benefit to men, women, and children. Although the commonly suggested current response to a husband's violence has been for the couple to separate, traditionally women were often told to "stay for the children." This paper uses the Project on Human Development in Chicago…

Correlational analysis, classical test theory, confirmatory factor analysis, and multilevel Rasch modeling were used to refine a measure of adolescents' exposure to violence (ETV). Interpersonal violence could be distinguished from other potentially traumatic events; it was also possible to distinguish three routes of exposure (victimization,…