RELATIONSHIPS AMONG FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR BY BLACK-AND-WHITE MALE-ADOLESCENTS

Understanding why violence occurs disproportionately among black male adolescents has become a public health research priority due to recent increases in the rates of homicide and other violent crime in this po pulation. This study examined independent, mediating, and moderating e ffects of family structure, attachment to parents, and family stress a nd conflict on self-reported fighting behavior, Subjects were black (n = 163) and white (n = 397) male 7th and gth graders. Compared to whit e males, blacks were exposed to an excess of risk factors for violent behavior, including living in a single-parent household and higher lev els of family stress and conflict. Although both groups reported simil ar levels of past-year fighting, black youth were more likely than whi tes to report attacking someone or being attacked by someone at school during the prior month. Controlling for age, area of residence, and o ther family characteristics, logistic regression analyses indicated th at living in a nonintact family was a significant risk factor for viol ent behavior among black male youth, while attachment to parents was a significant protective factor for white males. Family stress and conf lict was a risk factor for violent behavior common to both groups of a dolescents.