Interpersonal Violence Exposure, Social Cognition, and Aggression in Adolescence

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2018Adolescents who are victims of interpersonal violence are at markedly elevated risk of perpetrating violence not only in childhood and adolescence, but also in adulthood. This is concerning, given that almost a third of American youth have been exposed to at least one form of violence by the time they reach adolescence. Although deficits in empathic ability have long been proposed as a determinant of aggressive behavior, scant research has examined the social cognitive processes underlying empathy (e.g. moral reasoning) as potential mechanisms in the cycle of violence. To that end this study aimed to examine the impact of interpersonal violence exposure on the development of social cognitive processes involved in empathy, and their neural bases. Specifically, I examined the role of disruptions in processes that underlie empathy including emotion perception, cognitive and affective theory of mind, and experience-sharing, as a mechanism linking interpersonal violence exposure and aggressive behavior. This conceptual model was tested by acquiring self-report, behavioral, and functional MRI data in a community-based sample of 70 14-19 year old adolescents with a high concentration of exposure to interpersonal violence. Interpersonal violence exposure was associated with slower processing of faces expressing negative emotions and delayed identification of others’ emotions across a variety of contexts, as well as difficulty discriminating unintentional from intentional behavior. These disruptions in social cognition, in turn, were associated with aggressive behavior, but did not significantly explain the indirect effect of interpersonal violence on aggression. These findings build on existing research on the cycle of violence by identifying a specific pattern of atypical social cognitive processes influenced by childhood experiences of interpersonal violence. Findings not only enhance knowledge of how adverse environments alter development in ways that might increase risk for aggression, but also indicate possible targets for preventive interventions aimed at reducing aggressive behavior in adolescents who are victims of violence