Young adult trauma symptoms in the context of community violence exposure

Abstract

Aims: The primary purpose of this study is to understand how community violence exposure is associated with both common and unique variance characterizing posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms among young adults living in a lowresourced setting. Methods: Data were collected using a cross-sectional survey design. Participants were recruited from public housing developments in a city in the eastern United States. Participants completed a survey that included questions related to community violence, PTS symptoms, and optimism. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: We found a relationship between a generalized PTS response and each of the PTS symptom categories. Experiencing community violence was significantly related to generalized PTS response over and above other traumatic events. Conclusion: Young adults who experience community violence have a general distress response to those experiences, and yet, beyond that general response, there are ways in which each symptom is distinct from a generalized distress reaction.

Robbery Victimization in Early Adulthood, and Depression and Anxiety at Age 30 Years: Results From the 1982 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort Study

“…The association with robbery victimization was higher for comorbidity of MDD and GAD, than that for MDD or GAD alone. For decades, research has identified the effects of violence in the home on mental disorders ( 13 , 44 ), but less attention has been given to the specific effects of events such as robbery in the community ( 19 ). This is an important issue, especially in contexts where community violence is common.…”

“…In adults, post-traumatic stress disorder related to experiences of robbery has been reported among convenience store and bank employees ( 10 – 12 ). Moreover, depression, anxiety and social phobia have been found to correlate with community violence ( 9 , 13 ). High rates of violence in Latin America may be an important cause of mental disorder in the region ( 14 ).…”

“…Robbery is one of the most important forms of exposure to community violence ( 16 – 20 ), and a previous study carried out in Pelotas found that robbery victimization was associated with depression and anxiety among adolescents ( 19 ), in line with other studies performed in high-income countries, such as United States and England ( 21 , 22 ). There is, hence, a substantial set of findings from studies highlighting that community violence, mainly robbery victimization, may be related to mental disorders at different stages in the lifecourse, since robbery victims often report not only feelings of fear and concerns immediately afterwards the victimization, but also apprehension with possible revictimization and mental disorders occurrence, such as major depression and generalized anxiety, even months or years later, for example ( 13 , 23 – 25 ).…”

“…Although several studies has already been evaluated the association between stressful life events or interpersonal/community violence and mental disorders ( 7 , 13 , 15 ), there is no studies that has evaluated the robbery exposure at different times in the life course (lifetime, in the last 10 years, in the last 12 months) with specific mental disorders, such as major depression, generalized anxiety and the MDD and GAD comorbidity at age 30. In its most general form, our hypothesis is that the robbery victimization is associated with mental disorders at different stages in the life course.…”

Making meaning of community violence among adolescents: Associations between exposure, pro‐violence attitudes and psychological symptoms

“…Up to 40% of youth in the United States report witnessing a shooting, and up to 80% have witnessed or have been the target of physical violence (Finkelhor et al, 2015; Sargent et al, 2020; Stein et al, 2003). The exposure of community violence to children and adolescents has consistently been linked to increased mental health concerns, including symptoms of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Cole et al, 2020; Flannery et al, 2004; Fowler et al, 2009; Löfving–Gupta et al, 2015; Nöthling et al, 2019; Sargent et al, 2020). Symptoms of depression include sadness, suicidality, decreased energy, amotivation, and sleep and appetite disturbances, whereas trauma‐related symptoms of PTSD include hyperarousal or hypervigilance, avoidance of trauma reminders, intrusions (e.g., flashbacks, nightmares), or negative alternations in cognition and mood (American Psychological Association, 2016).…”