This article examines the relationship between exposure to violence, fear of exposure to violence, and sexual risk among a sample of urban middle school youth. The sample included 911 seventh-grade students who completed self-report surveys. Approximately 20% of the sample reported at least one direct threat or injury with a weapon in the past 3 months, and 52% reported ever seeing someone seriously injured or killed. Experiencing a direct threat was significantly associated with greater intentions to engage in vaginal intercourse and sexual touching behaviors; witnessing violence was significantly associated with sexual touching. Fearing exposure to violence was not associated with increased sexual risk. Most associations did not differ by gender. These data highlight the potential influence of exposure to violence on sexual risk among early adolescents, and underscore the potential of addressing exposure to violence in sexuality education programs and sexual health services for enhanced impact.
AjzenI.MaddenT. J. (1986). Prediction of goal directed behavior: Attitudes, intentions, and perceived behavioral control. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 22, 453-474.
2.
AlbusK. E.WeistM. D.Perez-SmithA. M. (2004). Associations between youth risk behavior and exposure to violence: Implications for the provision of mental health services in urban schools. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28, 548-564.
3.
ArmitageC. J.ConnerM. (2001). Social cognitive determinants of blood donation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31, 1431-1457.
4.
BerensonA. B.WiemannC. M.McCombsS. (2001). Exposure to violence and associated health-risk behaviors among adolescent girls. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 155, 1238-1242.
5.
BradyS. S.DonenbergG. R. (2006). Mechanisms linking violence exposure to health risk behavior in adolescence: Motivation to cope and sensation seeking. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 673-680.
6.
BukaS. L.StichickT. L.BirdthistleI.EarlsF. J. (2001). Youth exposure to violence: Prevalence, risks, and consequences. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 71, 298-310.
7.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States 2009. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2010, 59, No. SS-5, 1-148.
8.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
9.
Collins FantasiaH.SutherlandM. A.Kelly-WeederS. (2012). Gender differences in risky sexual behavior among urban adolescents exposed to violence. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 24, 436-442.
10.
ConnollyJ.GoldbergA. (1999). Romantic relationships in adolescence: The role of friends and peers in their emergence and development. In FurmanW.BrownB. B.FeiringC. (Eds.), The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 266-290). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
11.
CoyleK.KirbyD.MarinB.GomezC.GregorichS. (2004). Draw the line/respect the line: A randomized trial of a middle school intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors. American Journal of Public Health, 94, 843-851.
12.
CoyleK. K.AndersonP. M.FranksH. M.GlassmanJ. R.WalkerJ. D.CharlesV. E. (2014). Romantic relationships: An important context for adolescent HIV/STI and pregnancy prevention programs. Journal of Sex Education, 14(5), 582-596.
13.
DeRosaC. J.EthierK. A.KimD. H.CumberlandW. G.AbdelmonemA. A.KotlermanJ.. . . KerndtP. R. (2010). Sexual intercourse and oral sex among public middle school students: Prevalence and correlates. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 42, 197-205.
14.
DiClementeR. J.WingoodG. M.CrosbyR.SioneanC.CobbB. K.HarringtonK.. . . OhM. K. (2001). Parental monitoring: Association with adolescents’ risk behaviors. Pediatrics, 107, 1363-1368.
15.
FinkelhorD.TurnerH. A.ShattuckA.HambyS. L. (2015). Prevalence of childhood exposure to violence, crime, and abuse: Results from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence. JAMA Pediatrics, 169, 746-754.
16.
FishkinS. A.RohrbachL. A.JohnsonC. A. (1997). Correlates of youths’ fears of victimization. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27, 1601-1616.
17.
FosterH.Brooks-GunnJ. (2009). Toward a stress process model of children’s exposure to physical family and community violence. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 12(2), 71-94.
18.
FowlerD. N.ChanmugamA. (2007). A critical review of quantitative analyses of children exposed to domestic violence: Lessons for practice and research. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention, 7, 322-344.
19.
FowlerP. J.TompsettC. J.BraciszewskiJ. M.Jacques-TiuraA. J.BaltesB. B. (2009). Community violence: A meta-analysis on the effect of exposure and mental health outcomes of children and adolescents. Development and Psychopathology, 21, 227-259.
20.
GreenB. L. (1996). Trauma History Questionnaire (Self-report). In StammB. H. (Ed.), Measurement of stress, trauma, arid adaptation (pp. 366-368). Lutherville, MD: Sidran.
21.
HarrisK. M. (2009). The National Longitudinal Study of adolescent to adult health (add health), Waves I & II, 1994-1996; Wave III, 2001-2002; Wave IV, 2007-2009 (Machine-readable data file and documentation). Chapel Hill: Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
22.
JemmottJ. B.IIIJemmottL. S.FongG. T. (1998). Abstinence and safer sex: A randomized trial of HIV sexual risk-reduction interventions for young African-American adolescents. Journal of the American Medical Association, 279, 1529-1536.
23.
KerriganD.WittS.GlassB.ChungS.-E.EllenJ. (2006). Perceived neighborhood social cohesion and condom use among adolescents vulnerable to HIV/STI. AIDS and Behavior, 10, 723-729.
24.
LeventhalT.Brooks-GunnJ. (2000). The neighborhoods they live in: The effects of neighborhood residence on child and adolescent outcomes. Psychological Bulletin, 126, 309-337.
25.
LynchM. (2003). Consequences of children’s exposure to community violence. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6, 265-274.
26.
MargolinG.GordisE. B. (2000). The effects of family and community violence on children. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 445-479.
27.
MargolinG.GordisE. B. (2004). Children’s exposure to violence in the family and community. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 152-155.
28.
MarkhamC. M.PeskinM. F.AddyR. C.BaumlerE. R.TortoleroS. R. (2009). Patterns of vaginal, oral, and anal sexual intercourse in an urban seventh grade population. Journal of School Health, 79, 193-200.
29.
McDonaldC. C.DeatrickJ. A.Kassam-AdamsN.RichmondT. S. (2011). Community violence exposure and positive youth development in urban youth. Journal of Community Health, 36, 925-932. doi:10.1007/s10900-011-9391-5
30.
OsofskyJ. D. (1999). The impact of violence on children. The Future of Children, 9, 33-49.
31.
OsofskyJ. D. (2003). Prevalence of children’s exposure to domestic violence and child maltreatment: Implications for prevention and intervention. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 6, 161-170.
32.
PearlinL.SchiemanS.FazioE. M.MeersmanS. C. (2005). Stress, health, and the life course: Some conceptual perspectives. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 46, 205-219.
33.
SalesJ. M.SmearmanE. L.SwartzendruberA.BrownJ. L.BrodyG.DiClementeR. J. (2014). Socioeconomic-related risk and sexually transmitted infection among African-American adolescent females. Journal of Adolescent Health, 55, 698-704.
34.
SampsonR. J.RaudenbushS. W.EarlsF. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 918-924.
35.
VoisinD. R. (2005). The relationship between violence exposure and HIV sexual risk behaviors: Does gender matter?American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 75, 497-506.
36.
VoisinD. R.HongJ. S.KingK. (2012). Children and youth services review. Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 1983-1991. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.07.003
37.
VoisinD. R.HottonA. L.NeilandsT. B. (2013). Testing pathways linking exposure to community violence and sexual behaviors among African American youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43, 1513-1526. doi:10.1007/s10964-013-0068-5
38.
VoisinD. R.HottonA.SchneiderJ. (2013). Exposure to verbal parental aggression and sexual activity among low income African American youth. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23, 285-292. doi:10.1007/s10826-013-9720-7
39.
VoisinD. R.JenkinsE. J.TakahashiL. (2011). Toward a conceptual model linking community violence exposure to HIV-related risk behaviors among adolescents: Directions for research. Journal of Adolescent Health, 49, 230-236. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.01.002
40.
VoisinD. R.NeilandsT. B.SalazarL. F.CrosbyR.DiClementeR. J. (2008). Pathways to drug and sexual risk behaviors among detained adolescents. Social Work Research, 32, 147-157.
41.
VoisinD. R.TanK.TackA. C.WadeD.DiClementeR. (2012). Examining parental monitoring as a pathway from community violence exposure to drug use, risky sex, and recidivism among detained youth. Journal of Social Service Research, 38, 699-711.
42.
VoisinD. R.BerringerK. R. (2015). Interventions targeting exposure to community violence sequelae among youth: A commentary. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43, 98-108.
43.
WalshJ. L.SennT. E.CareyM. P. (2012). Exposure to different types of violence and subsequent sexual risk behavior among female Sexually Transmitted Disease clinic patients: A latent class analysis. Psychology of Violence, 2, 339-354.
44.
WaltonM. A.ReskoS.WhitesideL.ChermackS. T.ZimmermanM.CunninghamR. M. (2011). Sexual risk behaviors among teens at an urban emergency department: Relationship with violent behaviors and substance use. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48, 303-305. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2010.07.005
45.
WilsonH. W.WoodsB. A.EmersonE.DonenbergG. R. (2012). Patterns of violence exposure and sexual risk in low-income, urban African American girls. Psychology of Violence, 2, 194-207. doi:10.1037/a0027265
46.
WilsonW. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner-city, the underclass and public policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago.
47.
WolfeD. A.ScottK.Reitzel-JaffeD.WekerleC.GrasleyC.StraatmanA.-L. (2001). Development and validation of the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationship Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 13, 277-293.
48.
Zimmer-GembeckM. J.CollinsW. A. (2008). Gender, mature appearance, alcohol use, and dating as correlates of sexual partner accumulation from ages 16-26 years. Journal of Adolescent Health, 42, 564-572.
49.
Zimmer-GembeckM. J.HelfandM. (2008). Ten years of longitudinal research on U.S. adolescent sexual behavior: The evidence for multiple pathways to sexual intercourse, and the importance of age, gender and ethnic background. Developmental Review, 28, 153-224.
