The relationship between the frequency of gender-based violence exposure and Adolescents' psychosocial adjustment: A multilevel meta-analysis

Abstract

Gender-based Violence Exposure (GVE) is not usually a punctual event in a child's life. However, research into the differential adjustment related to the frequency of GVE is still inconclusive, especially regarding older children and adolescents, hindering the empirical integration and synthesis of this topic. The aim of this meta-analysis was to quantitatively synthesize the documented relationship between the frequency of exposure to GBV and adolescents' adjustment. We analyzed whether the relationships differed by sex, age, study design, violence conceptualization, and measurements. A comprehensive search of online databases was conducted into peer-reviewed studies published between January 2000 and September 2020. The searches yielded an initial total of 4850 studies, after screening 35 independent samples, 16,291 participants, met the inclusion criteria. Data were pooled using multilevel meta-analytic models. Overall, our findings provide evidence of the existence of a dose-response relationship between exposure to GVE and adolescents' adjustment. This relationship was especially significant for aggressive behavior, antisocial behavior, and dating violence. These results highlight the need for early intervention programmes to avoid the consolidation and chronicity of adolescent emotional and behavioral problems, and the need for further research on the variables associated with the adolescent's adjustment.