A comparison of inner-city and upper-middle class youths' exposure to violence1

Secondary Exposure to Violence During Childhood and Adolescence: Does Neighborhood Context Matter?

“…In summary, males are more likely than females to be exposed to higher levels of secondary violence (Fitzpatrick & Boldizar, 1993;Selner-O'Hagan et al, 1998). Blacks are more likely than Whites and Hispanics to experience secondary exposure to violence, and Hispanics are more likely than Whites to experience secondary exposures (Gladstein et al, 1992;Martin et al, 1995). Generally, older youth are more likely than younger youth to experience secondary exposures to violence (Richters & Marinez, 1993;Selner-O'Hagan et al, 1998;but cf.…”

“…For instance, some studies report that up to 47 percent of low income Black children to 1 percent of middle to upper class White children witnessed a murder. Further, studies show that 9 percent to 54 percent of children have witnessed a stabbing in their life time and that 4 percent to 70 percent have witnessed a shooting (Fitzpatrick, 1997;Gladstein, Rusonis, & Heald, 1992). Prevalence estimates of these most studied forms vary as a function of who is reporting the exposure (i.e., child self-report vs. parental reports of child exposure), sampling characteristics (low income inner city youth vs. middle class Caucasian youth), and measuring instruments (Buka et al, 2001).…”

Risk Factors for Community Violence Exposure in Adolescence

“…Increased age also has been associated with greater exposure to community violence (Richters & Martinez, 1993;Selner-O'Hagan, Kindlon, Buka, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1998;Weist et al, 2001). African American youth are more often witnesses and victims of community violence than are White youth (Bell & Jenkins, 1993;Fitzpatrick & Boldizar, 1993;Gladstein, Rusonis, & Heald, 1992), even after controlling for demographic characteristics such as age and gender . Youth exposure to community violence also varies according to area of residence, with youth residing in economically poorer areas (Fitzpatrick & Boldizar, 1993;Schubiner, Scott, & Tzelepis, 1993), urban areas (Campbell & Schwarz, 1996), and high crime areas (Selner-O'Hagan, et al, 1998) at greatest risk of exposure.…”

Which "Broken Windows" Matter? School, Neighborhood, and Family Characteristics Associated With Youths' Feelings of Unsafety

“…3 About one third of junior high and high school students report that they have been threatened physically, 4 and an even larger proportion of adolescents has witnessed violence. 5 The problem is especially prevalent among youths who live in large cities: Several studies 6,7 have shown that 80% or more of inner-city adolescents have seen someone assaulted, and about one third have witnessed a shooting or stabbing. Research continues apace on the prevalence, [8][9][10][11] causes, [12][13][14][15][16][17] and consequences 18,19 of violent victimization among adolescents.…”