Effects of Exposure to Community Violence on Internalizing Symptoms: Does Desensitization to Violence Occur in African American Youth?

Gaylord‐Harden, Noni K.; Cunningham, Jamila A.; Zelencik, Brett

doi:10.1007/s10802-011-9510-x

Cited by 124 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…78 While direct and indirect exposures are not equivalent, the high level of relational, direct physical discipline toward a child may evoke some level of desensitization to other forms of violence resulting in a greater impact of direct violence with less additive effects with indirect. Such desensitization has been shown in Black youth exposed to community violence, 79 with a curvilinear relation between community violence exposures. In our current sample, we found no significant curvilinear or quadratic relation between indirect or direct violence and externalizing behavior; however, desensitization may also vary by behavioral conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Role of Direct and Indirect Violence Exposure on Externalizing Behavior in Children

et al. 2016

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The objective of this study was to examine the association between externalizing behaviors and indirect violence exposure, assessed both within the household and at the community level, as well as the interaction effect of indirect and direct violence exposure. A sample of parents of children ages 4-15 who have not been referred or enrolled in child welfare (n = 82) were recruited from the greater New Orleans community. Externalizing behavior was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The child's indirect exposure to violence included witnessing community violence, witnessing physical assault, and witnessing fighting or domestic violence at home. Direct exposure to violence included the child experiencing physical aggression from a caregiver. All assessments were based on caregiver reports. To decrease potential for confounding, children were matched for analysis based on age, Hurricane Katrina exposure, and their propensity to be exposed to high indirect violence. Cumulative indirect exposure to violence was significantly positively correlated with CBCL scores. After controlling for key covariates, CBCL externalizing T score increased significantly by approximately 1.25 points for each level increase in indirect violence exposure (β = 1.25, SE = 0.57, p = 0.027). There also was a significant interaction between indirect and direct exposure to violence in the association with CBCL score (β = −0.08, SE = 0.03, p = 0.002). These findings extend previous research by demonstrating that exposure to both direct and cross-contextual indirect violence influences externalizing behaviors in children. Additionally, the findings suggest that community and household social environments are both important targets for interventions designed to decrease externalizing behaviors and improve longterm outcomes for youth at risk of exposure to violence.KEYWORDS Childhood exposure to violence, Cumulative exposure to violence, Indirect exposure to violence, Direct exposure to violence, Community violence, Household violence, Child physical aggression, Child externalizing behaviors BACKGROUND

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Role of Direct and Indirect Violence Exposure on Externalizing Behavior in Children

et al. 2016

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“…Fourth, adolescents who grow up surrounded by violence may become psychologically desensitized to its occurrence, 41 reducing both their perceived exposure to neighborhood violence and their likelihood of reporting mental health problems (however, there are conflicting findings 42 ). Lastly, exposure to neighborhood-level violence may be more strongly tied to delinquent and aggressive behaviors than to the depression/anxiety symptoms we could assess in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived and Objectively-Measured Neighborhood Violence and Adolescent Psychological Distress

et al. 2016

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Prior research examining links between neighborhood violence and mental health has not been able to establish whether it is perceived levels of neighborhood violence, or actual levels of violent crime, that matter most for adolescents' psychological well-being. In this study, we ascertained both perceived neighborhood safety and objectively-measured neighborhood-level violent crime (using a novel geospatial index of police-reported crime incidents) for 4464 adolescent respondents from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2011(CHIS -2014. We used propensity score-matched regression models to examine associations between these measures and CHIS adolescents' symptoms of psychological distress. We found that adolescents who perceived their neighborhood to be unsafe were two times more likely than those who perceived their neighborhood to be safe to report serious psychological distress (OR = 2.4, 95 % CI = 1.20, 4.96). Adolescents who lived in areas objectively characterized by high levels of violent crime, however, were no more likely than their peers in safer areas to be distressed (OR = 1.41; 95 % CI = 0.60, 3.32). Our results suggest that, at the population level, adolescents' perceptions of neighborhood violence, rather than objective levels of neighborhood crime, are most salient for their mental health.

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“…Some work suggests that exposure to community violence may affect depression and anxiety differently. One study showed that the relation between exposure to community violence and depression was curvilinear, whereas the relation between exposure to community violence and anxiety was linear (Gaylord-Harden et al 2011). Combining symptoms of depression and anxiety may have obscured interactive effects that operate differently in their prediction of symptoms of depression versus anxiety.…”

Section: J Youth Adolescencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…African American youth are especially susceptible to exposure to community violence. African American youth witness more violence than other youth and are more likely to be victims of assault and serious crime compared to other youth (Crouch et al 2000;Gaylord-Harden et al 2011;Sickmund and Puzzanchera 2014;Wilson et al 2012). Exposure to community violence during adolescence is a risk factor for internalizing (e.g., anxiety and depression) and externalizing problems (e.g., aggression and delinquency)-both of which pose serious risks for compromised functioning in adulthood (Brook et al 2013;Mason et al 2010;Yaroslavsky et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family Resources as Protective Factors for Low-Income Youth Exposed to Community Violence

Hardaway

Sterrett-Hong

Larkby

et al. 2016

J Youth Adolescence

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Exposure to community violence is a risk factor for internalizing and externalizing problems; however, resources within the family can decrease the likelihood that adolescents will experience internalizing and externalizing problems as a result of such exposure. This study investigates the potential moderating effects of kinship support (i.e., emotional and tangible support from extended family) and parental involvement on the relation between exposure to community violence (i.e., witnessing violence and violent victimization) and socioemotional adjustment (i.e., internalizing and externalizing problems) in low-income adolescents. The sample included 312 (50 % female; 71 % African American and 29 % White) low-income youth who participated in a longitudinal investigation when adolescents were age 14 (M age = 14.49 years) and again when they were 16 (M age = 16.49 years). Exposure to community violence at age 14 was related to more internalizing and externalizing problems at age 16. High levels of kinship support and parental involvement appeared to function as protective factors, weakening the association between exposure to violence and externalizing problems. Contrary to prediction, none of the hypothesized protective factors moderated the association between exposure to violence and internalizing problems. The results from this study suggest that both kinship support and parental involvement help buffer adolescents from externalizing problems that are associated with exposure to community violence.

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Effects of Exposure to Community Violence on Internalizing Symptoms: Does Desensitization to Violence Occur in African American Youth?

Cited by 124 publications

References 51 publications

Role of Direct and Indirect Violence Exposure on Externalizing Behavior in Children

Role of Direct and Indirect Violence Exposure on Externalizing Behavior in Children

Perceived and Objectively-Measured Neighborhood Violence and Adolescent Psychological Distress

Family Resources as Protective Factors for Low-Income Youth Exposed to Community Violence

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