Assessing the Relevance of Exposure to Violence as a Predictor of Cocaine/Crack Use: Delineating Witnessed Violence and Direct Victimization and Testing for Developmental Differences.

This article examines how different forms of exposure to violence (ETV)—specifically direct victimization and witnessed violence—predict cocaine use across adolescence and emerging adulthood among justice-involved youth (JIY). Using longitudinal data from the Pathways to Desistance study, results indicate that only direct victimization significantly increases the risk of subsequent cocaine use, with this effect showing a quadratic pattern: its influence diminishes during adolescence but intensifies again in emerging adulthood. Witnessed violence did not predict cocaine use, and the study highlights the importance of considering developmental timing when addressing trauma-related substance use. These findings have implications for targeted screening and intervention strategies for cocaine use among victimized youth, particularly within justice-involved populations, while noting limitations related to measurement and sample generalizability.