The longitudinal relationship between social support and victimization among latino teens

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines the relationship between social support and victimization of Latino youth over time, utilizing the stress prevention and support deterioration models. Methods: To address the research questions we utilized data from Waves 1 and 2 (n = 574) of the Dating Violence among Latino Adolescents (DAVILA) study, a national bilingual phone survey of self‐identified Latino youth and their caregiver. Cross‐lagged panel modeling was used to assess the fit of the two theoretical models to observed patterns of covariance among the victimization and social support variables specified. Results: Results show that victimization at Wave 1 was positively and strongly related to victimization at Wave 2 and social support at Wave 1 was positively and moderately associated with social support at Wave 2. As hypothesized, higher levels of victimization at Wave 1 were significantly related to decreases in social support at Wave 2 (β = −.15). Wave 1 social support was not significantly related to victimization at Wave 2. Conclusions: We did not find support for the stress prevention model but did find support for the support deterioration model. Teens who were victimized tended to have lower levels of subsequent social support, highlighting the need to equip peers, family, and significant others to adequately respond to victimization disclosures.