Effects of Microcultural Environments of Violence on Resilient Responses Among Adolescents and Young Adults in the City of Itagui, Colombia

Abstract

In this chapter we examine how the culture of violence in Itagui, Colombia, and the culture of specific comunas (areas of the city) both support and obstruct resilience processes. Three hundred and ninety-five youth and young adults aged 13 to 30 from six comunas participated in a household survey assessing risk and protective factors in individual, family, peer, and community domains, as well as indicators of adjustment. Our results indicate that the comunas differed significantly in terms of level of violence and supports available to youth and families. At the individual level, participants who attended religious services more regularly, reported more feelings of security, and described their families as being more cohesive, were less likely to report behaving aggressively or using alcohol or marijuana in the context of high community violence relative to participants who attended religious services infrequently, felt less secure, and resided in less cohesive homes. Further, religious attendance, family cohesion, and perceived security each had strong negative associations with aggressive behaviour and substance use, indicating that these factors were beneficial even in the absence of violence exposure. Findings show that these culturally-relevant factors which operate at the individual, family, and community levels are important in promoting resilience.

We thank the government agency in Itagui who sponsored the original study: Secretaria de Salud y Proteccion Social, Municipio de Itagui and researchers at the Grupo de Salud Mental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad CES, Medellin who conducted the original study.