Proyecto VENCER: Violence and Resilience in Mexican College Students

Exposure to multiple forms of violence, or poly-victimization, has profound implications for psychosocial development. Individuals who are poly-victimized face increased risks of academic and psychological challenges, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Proyecto VENCER (Violence Exposure iN College Mexican Emerging adults and Resilience Study) recruited 500 first-year students at an urban Mexican university to participate in a 3-wave longitudinal study examining poly-victimization, academic outcomes, and mental health.

The study investigates:
1) The effects of poly-victimization on academic and mental health outcomes.
2) Whether those effects are mediated or moderated by family, school, cultural, and neighborhood-level factors.
3) The desensitization hypothesis — whether chronic violence exposure leads to emotional numbness over time.

All waves have been successfully collected. Results are forthcoming.