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

Authors

  • 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

Keywords:

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

Abstract

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.

Author Biography

  • 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

References

Arnold, M. E., Nott, B. D., & Meinhold, J. L. (2012). The Positive Youth Development Inventory. Oregon State University 4-H Youth Development Program. Retrieved from https://youthrex.com/measure/positive-youth-development-inventory/

Atilola, O. (2012). Level of community violence exposure and psychological functioning in a sample of Nigerian children. South African Journal of Psychiatry, 18(4), 149–153.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv26071r6

Catalano, R. F., Berglund, M. L., Ryan, J. A. M., Lonczak, H. S., & Hawkins, J. D. (2004). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591(1), 98–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716203260102

Covington, M. V. (1992). Making the grade: A self-worth perspective on motivation and school reform. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://assets.cambridge.org/97805213/42612/sample/9780521342612ws.pdf

Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750

Eccles, J. S., Midgley, C., Wigfield, A., Buchanan, C. M., Reuman, D., Flanagan, C., & Mac Iver, D. (1993). Development during adolescence: The impact of stage-environment fit on young adolescents' experiences in schools and in families. American Psychologist, 48(2), 90–101. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.48.2.90

Elliot, A. J., & Church, M. A. (1997). A hierarchical model of approach and avoidance achievement motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(1), 218–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.72.1.218

Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2×2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(3), 501–519. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.80.3.501

Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. W. W. Norton & Company. https://doi.org/10.1002/bs.3830140209

Fergus, S., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2005). Adolescent resilience: A framework for understanding healthy development in the face of risk. Annual Review of Public Health, 26, 399–419. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144357

Fowler, P. J., Tompsett, C. J., Braciszewski, J. M., Jacques-Tiura, A. J., & Baltes, B. B. (2009). Community violence: A meta-analysis on the effect of exposure and mental health outcomes of children and adolescents. Development and Psychopathology, 21(1), 227–259. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579409000145

Gureje, O., Oladeji, B. D., Montgomery, A. A., Araya, R., & Lester, H. (2015). Integrating mental health into primary care in Nigeria: A cluster randomized controlled trial. World Psychiatry, 14(3), 354–363. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20224

Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). Guilford Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Introduction_to_Mediation_Moderation_and.html?id=MglQEAAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y

Lerner, R. M., Almerigi, J. B., Theokas, C., & Lerner, J. V. (2005). Positive youth development: A view of the issues. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 10–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431604273211

Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd ed.). Psychology Foundation. Retrieved from https://books.google.ro/books/about/Manual_for_the_Depression_Anxiety_Stress.html?id=mXoQHAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Norem, J. K., & Cantor, N. (1986). Defensive pessimism: Harnessing anxiety as motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1208–1217. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1208

Nurmi, J. E. (1991). How do adolescents see their future? A review of the development of future orientation and planning. Developmental Review, 11(1), 1–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/0273-2297(91)90002-6

Schwartz, D., & Proctor, L. J. (2000). Community violence exposure and children's social adjustment in the school peer group: The mediating roles of emotion regulation and social cognition. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68(4), 670–683. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.68.4.670

Sharkey, P. (2018). Uneasy peace: The great crime decline, the renewal of city life, and the next war on violence. W. W. Norton & Company. https://doi.org/10.1177/1462474520915824

Sieng, M., Cloutier, S., & Irimata, K. (2018). Positive Youth Development Sustainability Scale (PYDSS): The development of an assessment tool. Journal of Social Change, 10(1), 81–97. https://doi.org/10.5590/JOSC.2018.10.1.07

Steinberg, L. (2005). Cognitive and affective development in adolescence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(2), 69–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2004.12.005

Ukoji, V. N., Ayodokun, A., & Eze, B. (2018). Mapping patterns of violence in Nigeria (2006–2016). Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme. https://doi.org/10.1136/ip-2023-044895

World Health Organization. (2024). Adolescent health. https://www.who.int/health-topics/adolescent-health

Downloads

Published

2024-08-15

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 9 (2024)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).