Communalism, Mattering to Others, and Violent Attitudes Among African American Young Males: A Mediation Analysis

Candice M. Wallace, Zina T. McGee, R. Davis Dixon, LindaMalone-Colon, and A. Wade Boykin

Abstract

African American males are significantly more likely to be both victims and perpetrators of violence resulting in detrimental consequences for individual and community well-being. The purpose of this research was to explore the extent to which communal orientation and mattering to others reduce violent attitudes among African American adolescent and young adult males. A community-based sample of African American males between the ages of 12-25 who were placed at risk for engaging in violence was included in this pilot study. Participants completed self-report measures of communalism, mattering to others, and violent attitudes. Findings support the theoretical proposition that communalism is related to lower levels of violent attitudes and that mattering to others mediates this relationship. Though preliminary, the findings from this research suggest that culturally specific factors such as communalism play an important protective role in reducing rates of violent attitudes among African American adolescent and young adult males. This research indicates that culture-related variables gain their protective ability by bolstering other selfrelated factors such as mattering to others.

Analysis

In the last 15 years, the rates of violent victimizations in the United States have declined (Oudekerk, 2020). However, African American male adolescents and young men maintain disproportionately higher rates of violence-based engagement and exposure compared to their race and gender counterparts (David-Ferdon et al., 2016). For African American young males between the ages of 15-24, homicide is the leading cause of death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2017). Moreover, 63% of violent victimizations and over 80% of homicides in this population are the result of intraracial interactions (Federal Bureau of Investigations: Uniform Crime Statistics, 2019; Morgan, 2017). Thus, to reduce rates of violent victimization among African American males, a reduction in rates of violence perpetration by African American males must be observed (Thomas et al., 2016).

Several researchers have explored factors that might uniquely explain and protect African Americans from engaging in and being affected by violence (Caldwell et al., 2004; Flay et al., 2004). Proponents of African-centered psychology argue the endorsement of culturally-specific principles (e.g. racial identity or spirituality) tends to mitigate the sociologically and psychologically harmful circumstances that many African Americans face (Hill, 2003; Grills, 2015). One culturally relevant protective factor that has been empirically associated with positive outcomes for African Americans is communalism (Gooden & McMahon, 2016). A communal orientation suggests individuals place significant importance on the interdependence between the self, close others, and the community (Boykin et al., 1997). The endorsement of a communal orientation has been associated with factors that facilitate prosocial relationships with others. For instance, previous research indicates positive relationships between communalism and moral reasoning skills and, communalism and empathy (Humphries & Jagers, 2009; Woods & Jagers, 2003). Factors such as moral reasoning skills and empathy are negatively related to aggressive and violent behaviors (Humphries & Jagers, 2009; Woods & Jagers, 2003). Moreover, communalism has been associated with decreased endorsement of violence-related attitudes and a lower likelihood of engaging in violent and delinquent behavior for African American youth generally, and African American boys, specifically (Mattis et al., 2002; Jagers et al., 2007).

Research on the relationship between communalism and violent and delinquent behaviors suggests that communalism derives its’ influence by enhancing other psychosocial factors that are known to decrease levels of violence, yet few studies have examined what these factors might be (Humphries & Jagers, 2009; Woods & Jagers, 2003). We proposed that mattering to others might explain why communalism is associated with reductions in violent attitudes among African American young males. Mattering to others or simply, mattering, is an important component of psychosocial development (Elliot et al., 2004). There are two types of mattering.

General mattering, which suggests one holds a significant place in society; and interpersonal mattering, which stresses one’s importance in meaningful relationships (Elliot et al., 2004;

Rosenberg & McCullough, 1981). Although mattering is derived from interpersonal relationships and societal position, it is a self-related construct. Research implies that family members and friends largely develop an individual’s sense of mattering but given the definition, it is conceivable that one would also gain a sense of mattering from the community and society at large.

For an African American adolescent and/or young man, the intersection of being male and being African American might negatively influence perceptions of mattering. As it relates to gender, Rayle (2005) found that young men tend to report lower feelings of mattering compared to young women. Moreover, research suggests stigmatized groups are often devalued by the larger society, which can affect self-perceptions among members of these populations (Crocker & Major, 2003). A perceived lack of value from the larger society and disproportionate access to opportunities and resources might decrease feelings of mattering among African American males (Jones, 2018).

Few studies examine the association between mattering and violence and fewer studies examine mattering among African American males. Mattering has been negatively associated with maladaptive psychosocial outcomes (Taylor & Turner, 2001). Research indicates mattering is associated with decreased family-related violence (Elliott et al., 2011) and externalizing behaviors such as aggression (Schneck et al., 2009). Additionally, encouraging findings from the work conducted by Tucker et al. (2010) suggest perceptions of mattering have benefits for African American males. In the current study, we explored the construct of mattering to better understand violent attitudes among African American male adolescents and young adult men.

Both communalism and mattering have been negatively associated with engagement in violent behaviors. Therefore, we sought to fill gaps in the communalism and mattering research by exploring how these factors, directly and indirectly, influence violent attitudes among African American young males. We theorized that African American male adolescents and young adults who are more communal emphasize the connection between the self, family, neighborhood, and community. A sense of communalism would foster increased levels of importance (mattering) among young African American males suggesting they are integral members of their immediate and distant communities. Instead of developing mattering through violent and delinquent behaviors, these individuals would gain a sense of mattering through social relationships and civic responsibility.

We used pilot data taken from an intervention-based study to explore several hypotheses.

We first hypothesized that communalism and mattering would be inversely related to violent attitudes. We also hypothesized that a communal orientation would be associated with increased feelings of mattering. Finally, we hypothesized that mattering would mediate the relationship between communalism and violent attitudes. That is, communalism would increase feelings of mattering and these increased feelings of mattering would be associated with decreased violent attitudes.

METHOD Participants

Following institutional review board approval, a convenience sample of 75 African American male adolescents and young adults between the ages of 12-25 (Mage = 14.63 years, SD = 2.10 years) was selected for analysis in this research. Participants were determined to be placed at risk for engaging in violence based on suggestions from the CDC (CDC, 2016). Risk factors included familial circumstances, engagement in delinquent behavior, school performance factors, and behavioral/mental health issues. Participants were sampled from coastal Virginia (n = 35) and the Washington, DC metropolitan area (n = 40). There was not a pre-determined number of risk factors necessary for participation.

Measures

Data for this study were taken from a larger culturally relevant, intervention-based research project designed to reduce violent attitudes and behaviors among African American male adolescents and young adults. The data reported here were taken from the pilot year for the larger intervention project.

Participants were given a battery of measures that explored various cultural, familial, and self-related factors as well as assessments of violent attitudes and behaviors. To reduce the total number of scale items employed in the larger study, each measure was subjected to a Principal Components Analysis (EFA). A pilot sample of 25 African American male adolescents (Mage = 16.52, SD = 2.86) completed all measures, including those mentioned below. Before performing the tests, the appropriateness of the data for factor extraction was assessed (Green & Salkind, 2014). Our approach also provided construct validity to determine the extent to which the measures addressed their respective underlying theoretical construct. Hence, the data reduction technique examined the factor structure through our analysis. Standard tests for reliability according to the sample size were employed (see Yurdugul, 2008). All scales used for this study were assessed on a 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) scale. Summed scale scores were divided by the total number of scale items so that mean scores could be interpreted based on the original scale range.

Violent Attitudes

Violent attitudes were measured using the Attitude toward Conflict Scale (Lam, 1989 as cited in Dahlberg et al., 2005). This measure uses eight items to assess attitudes toward the use of violence in response to disagreement or conflicts and has been used with an adolescent population. Following scale reduction procedures, all items on this scale were retained. Items were rated on a Likert scale and higher scores indicated greater endorsement of violent attitudes (M = 2.48, SD = 1.14). We obtained an alpha coefficient of .79 for this scale.

Communalism

The Communalism scale was used to measure communalism (Boykin et al., 1997). This 31-item measure examines the degree to which individuals value family members and community, believe that others are important to self-concept, and generally value cooperation. Following scale reduction, ten items on this scale were retained. Items were rated on a Likert scale and higher scores indicated an increased communal ideology (M = 3.95, SD = .65). We obtained an alpha coefficient of .88 for this scale.

Mattering to Others

Mattering to others was assessed using the Mattering Inventory developed by Taylor and Turner (2001). This scale uses five items to assess participants’ sense of importance and belonging to others. Following scale reduction procedures, all items on this scale were retained. Ratings were examined on a Likert scale and higher scores indicated stronger feelings of mattering to others (M = 3.96, SD = .68). We obtained an alpha coefficient of .85 for this scale.

Demographics

Participants were asked to self-report demographic information. Participants reported their age as an open-ended item. Participants indicated the race and gender that best applied to them as a categorical, closed-ended item.

Procedure

Participants were recruited through community organizations (i.e. churches, schools, and community centers), radio announcements, flyers, word of mouth advertisements, and referrals from partnering community agencies. The study took place in one of three settings: a college campus, a neighborhood middle school, and a neighborhood alternative high school. Participants and their parents (if under the age of 18) provided informed consent and responded to a battery of measures that included assessments of violent attitudes, communalism, and mattering to others. These assessments were distributed in the same order for each participant and were completed in a quiet classroom-like setting. Participants were seated in small groups of approximately 10 and completed the measures individually. Researchers read each item to the group of participants to ensure they were able to understand the questions and to clarify any questions if needed. Participants completed the measures in approximately 45 minutes but were given as much time as needed. Following the completion of the study, participants were given monetary compensation for their participation.

RESULTS Missing Data

To avoid losing data through casewise deletion resulting from missing data, we replaced an individual’s missing value for each variable with the scale mean for that variable (see Eekhout et al, 2013). For the variables of interest in this study, we found that 1% of data were missing for the measure of violent attitudes, 3% of data were missing for the measure of communalism and, 3.5% of data were missing for the measure of mattering. This method was chosen instead of listwise deletion because it produces an internally consistent set of results and true correlation matrices (Kang, 2013).

Communalism, Mattering to Others and Reductions in Violent Attitudes

Bivariate correlations revealed significant negative relationships between communalism and violent attitudes (r = -.43, p < .001) and mattering to others and violent attitudes (r = -.37, p< .001). Increased levels of communalism and mattering to others were associated with decreased levels of violent attitudes, respectively. A positive correlation between communalism and mattering to others was also observed (r = .36, p < .002) suggesting higher levels of communalism were related to an increased sense of mattering to others. Results from a multiple regression analysis performed to assess the degree to which communalism and mattering predict violent attitudes suggested that the overall model was significant, F (2, 72) = 11.17, p < .001. These variables jointly explained 24% of the variance in violent attitudes and as predicted, each variable was a significant predictor of a reduction in violent attitudes (communalism, β = -34, p=.003; mattering, β = - .25, p = .027).

To test the hypothesis that mattering to others might mediate the relationship between communalism and violent attitudes, the PROCESS macro developed by Hayes (2017) was used. Due to the small sample size, nonparametric bootstrapping analyses were conducted (Hayes, 2017). Based on 5,000 bootstrapped samples, results indicated statistically significant mediation at a 95% confidence interval. Results from the test of an indirect effect suggested mattering to others mediated the relationship between communalism and violent attitudes, b = -.06, 95% CI [-

.18, -.002]. Based on the suggestions by Hayes (2017), completely standardized effects were examined to determine effect size for the indirect effect and suggested the mediation analysis yielded a statistically significant medium effect (cˈ_cs = -.34., 95% CI [-.27, -.004]).

Moreover, the observed direct effect was also statistically significant, b = -.24, t (75) = -3.07, 95% CI [ -.39, -.08]. This effect suggested that communalism predicted violent attitudes, without the influence of mattering to others. Finally, the total effect, indicating the combined direct and indirect effects, was statistically significant, R2 = .18, b = -.30, t (75) = - 4.04, 95% CI [-.45, -.15] (see figure 1 for results of the mediation test).

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of communalism and mattering to others on reductions in violent attitudes among African American male adolescents and young adults. Specifically, this study sought to further support the existing literature that suggests communalism plays an important role in reducing violent and delinquent behaviors (Humphries & Jagers, 2009; Woods & Jagers, 2003). This study also aimed to add to the limited body of literature that implies mattering to others is negatively associated with violent attitudes and behaviors (Elliott et al., 2011; Schneck, 2009). Finally, this research hypothesized that mattering to others would mediate the relationship between communal orientation and reductions in violent attitudes. The findings from this study suggest all hypotheses were supported. Results from mediation analyses supported the notion that communal orientation and mattering to others were directly, negatively related to violent attitudes. Additionally, these analyses support the claim that mattering to others explains the relationship between communalism and reduction in violent attitudes. The results from this research support and extend the work of Jagers et al. (2007) implying that culture-based factors, directly and indirectly, mitigate violent attitudes among African American young males. We argue that culture-based factors not only serve as protectors for African American young men who are placed at-risk for engaging in violence but, they also assist in developing key psychosocial variables such as mattering to others; variables that lead to less supportive attitudes toward violence and conceivably, less violent behaviors.

Limitations and Future Research

This study relied on a small convenience sample of African American adolescents and young males. Convenience sampling allowed us to examine the population of interest but also presented the potential to introduce bias that can affect the conclusions of this research (Etikan et al., 2016). The participants in this study represent a narrow subset of African American males.

The findings obtained are promising but should be generalized to other groups of African American adolescent and young adult males with caution. Moreover, the results reported here were taken from pilot data. While significant findings were obtained in this research, the small sample size employed might present potential issues related to power. Future studies should replicate this research using a larger, more representative sample.

The measures selected for this research were chosen based on previously supported construct validation and high reliability scores. Given the nature of the population of interest, we decided to reduce the total number of items per measure. While results of our factor analysis suggested the reliability of these measures was maintained, there is the potential for issues related to validity that might be associated with this reduction. Future research should further refine these measures and investigate the psychometric usefulness of these scales for African American adolescents and young adults. This study also used self-report measures to assess levels of communalism, mattering, and violent attitudes, which could have introduced social desirability bias. The focus on cultural awareness that was associated with the larger study from which this research derived might have reminded the participants of the appropriate thoughts and actions related to culture and violence without indicating a personal change in these perceptions.

The findings from this study suggest the effect of culturally relevant variables on reduced rates of violent attitudes is important and might be mediated by cognitive, emotional, self, or relational variables that were not mentioned in this study. Future research should explore the specific path through which communalism, as well as other culturally relevant variables (e.g. racial identity or spirituality), affect violent attitudes and behaviors. These studies should employ multivariate models (e.g. structural equation modeling) that ascertain how culture-related and other psychosocial variables converge to reduce rates of violent attitudes and behaviors among African American young males.

Conclusions

African-American adolescent and young adult males are stigmatized and perceived as threatening to the larger society in the U.S. As a result of stigmatization and discrimination, feelings of worthiness, positive self-esteem, and a sense of mattering are often diminished and replaced with violent attitudes (DuRant et al., 1994). Violent attitudes result from status frustration and role conflict (Burrell et al., 2021). The unfortunate result of these violent attitudes is increased engagement in violent behaviors (Madden et al, 1992). Violent behaviors often result in imprisonment, harm to self, harm to others, harm to the community, and in extreme cases, death. The findings from our study suggest violence prevention programs that aim to mitigate these consequences for African American young males should be culturally relevant. These programs should seek to instill a sense of purpose and mattering by highlighting the connection between communalism, civic responsibility, and self-related outcomes.

Candice M. Wallace, PhD is Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological Science, Central Connecticut State University, Zina T. McGee, Department of Department of Social Sciences, Hampton University, R. Davis Dixon and Linda Malone-Colon, Department of Psychology, Hampton University, and A. Wade Boykin, Department of Psychology, Howard University

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