BUFFERING OR CHANNELING? POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRESS-LINKED ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION AMONG ADOLESCENTS EXPOSED TO COMMUNITY VIOLENCE

Autors/ores

  • Adebunmi O. Oyekola Department of Counselling and Human Development Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria orcid.org/0000-0003-0449-7037

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v11i9.6926

Paraules clau:

positive youth development, community violence exposure, psychological distress, achievement goal orientation, developmental assets, adolescent development, Nigeria

Resum

Community violence exposure is a common feature of adolescent life in many Nigerian urban settings, and the psychological distress associated with such exposure has been linked to changes in academic motivation. This study examined whether positive youth development (PYD) assets shape how psychological distress relates to achievement goal orientation among 298 in-school adolescents (150 male, 148 female; aged 10 to 21 years) in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. Two competing accounts were tested. Under a buffering account, PYD would weaken the relationship between community violence exposure (CVE) and distress itself. Under a channeling account, PYD would not weaken the association between violence exposure and distress but would moderate how distress relates to achievement motivation, particularly whether greater distress is accompanied by mastery-approach striving. The buffering account was not supported: PYD did not moderate the CVE-to-distress relationship, B = −.001, SE = .002, t = −.49, p = .623, and the indirect association between CVE and each achievement goal orientation through distress remained similar in magnitude across low, average, and high PYD. The channeling account received more support, though only for one of the four orientations examined. Distress and PYD interacted significantly in predicting mastery-approach goals, B = .0029, SE = .0013, t = 2.29, p = .022. Among adolescents higher in PYD, psychological distress was positively associated with mastery-approach goals (simple slope at +1 SD PYD: b = .062, p = .046); this association was not significant at average or low PYD. No comparable interaction emerged for mastery-avoidance, performance-approach, or performance-avoidance goals. These findings suggest that developmental assets do not appear to reduce the distress associated with violence exposure; rather, they appear to be associated with how psychological distress relates to adaptive mastery-oriented striving. Given that this pattern emerged for only one of four orientations tested, it is offered as a preliminary finding warranting replication rather than a firm conclusion.

Biografia de l'autor/a

  • Adebunmi O. Oyekola, Department of Counselling and Human Development Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria orcid.org/0000-0003-0449-7037

    Adebunmi Oyekola, PhD, is a developmental psychologist and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Counselling and Human Development Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Her research focuses on child and adolescent development, with particular interests in early adversity, resilience, self-regulation, family and peer relationships, and psychosocial well-being in African contexts. Her work seeks to advance culturally informed developmental science and translate research evidence into interventions, educational practice, and policy for improving child and adolescent outcomes. Her handles are:

    Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=hNKNcDgAAAAJ  

    ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0449-7037  

    ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Adebunmi-Oyekola

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Publicat

2024-08-15

Número

Vol. 11 Núm. 9 (2024)

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Articles

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