This study extends findings of the prevalence and consequences of community violence exposure in at-risk youth to a young adult and low-risk population. A total of 476 male and female university students (mean age = 20.26 years) completed a survey of lifetime exposure to community violence. Based on high and low reports of exposure as a witness or victim, 54 (mean age = 20.5) returned to complete questionnaires on depression, anxiety, and aggression. Of the full sample, 95.6% of respondents reported witnessing and 82% reported being victimized by some form of violence; 81.6% and 44.8% reported experiencing at least three different forms of violence as a witness or victim, respectively. Of the returning subsample, high- versus low-exposure groups reported significantly greater aggression and depression. These findings underscore the persistence of violence-related problems into young adulthood and the unfortunate prevalence of violence even among populations traditionally thought of as low risk.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Beck, A. T. , Ward, C., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression.Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561-571.
2.
Boney-McCoy, S. , & Finkelhor, D. (1995). Psychosocial sequelae of violent victimization in a national youth sample.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, 726-736.
3.
Buss, A. H. , & Perry, M. (1992). The Aggression Questionnaire.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 452-459.
4.
DuRant, R. H. , Getts, A., Cadenhead, C., Emans, S. J., & Woods, E. R. (1995). Exposure to violence and victimization and depression, hopelessness, and purpose in life among adolescents living in and around public housing.Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 16, 233-237.
5.
Farrell, A. D. , & Bruce, S. E. (1997). Impact of exposure to community violence on violent behavior and emotional distress among urban adolescents.Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26, 2-14.
6.
Fitzpatrick, K. M. , & Boldizar, J. P. (1993). The prevalence and consequences of exposure to violence among African American youth.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 424-430.
7.
Freeman, L. N. , Mokros, H., & Poznanski, E. O. (1993). Violent events reported by normal urban school-aged children: Characteristics and depression correlates.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 419-423.
8.
Gorman-Smith, D. , & Tolan, P. (1998). The role of exposure to community violence and developmental problems among inner-city youth.Development and Psychopathology, 10, 101-116.
9.
Hashima, P. Y. , & Finkelhor, D. (1999). Violent victimization of youth versus adults in the National Crime Victimization Survey.Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14, 799-820.
10.
Kovacs, M. (1985). The Children's Depression Inventory.Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21, 995-998.
11.
Martinez, P. , & Richters, J. E. (1993). The NIMH Community Violence Project: II. Children's distress symptoms associated with violence exposure.Psychiatry, 56, 22-35.
12.
Miller, L. S. , Wasserman, G. A., Neugebauer, R., Gorman-Smith, D., & Kamboukos, D. (1999). Witnessed community violence and antisocial behavior in high-risk urban boys.Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28, 2-11.
13.
Mueser, K. T. , Goodman, L. B., & Trumbetta, S. L. (1998). Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in severe mental illness.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 493-499.
14.
Osofsky, J. D. , Wewers, S., Hann, D. M., & Fick, A. C. (1993). Chronic community violence: What is happening to our children?Psychiatry, 56, 36-45.
15.
Overstreet, S. , Dempsey, M., Graham, D., & Moely, B. (1999). Availability of family support as a moderator of exposure to community violence.Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28, 151-159.
16.
Richters, J. E. , & Saltzman, W. (1990). Survey of Exposure to Community Violence. Self-Report Version.Rockville, MD: Child and Adolescent Disorders Branch, National Institute of Mental Health.
17.
Scarpa, A. , Fikretoglu, D., & Luscher K. A. (2000). Community violence exposure in a young adult sample: II. Psychophysiology and aggressive behavior.Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 417-425.
18.
Scarpa, A. , Romero, N., Fikretoglu, D., Bowser, F. M., & Wilson, J. W. (1999, November). Community violence exposure and aggression: Biosocial interactions. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Toronto, Canada.
19.
Schwab-Stone, M. E. , Ayers, T. S., Kasprow, W., Voyce, C., Barone, C., Shriver, T., & Weissberg, R. (1995). No safe haven: A study of violence exposure in an urban community.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1343-1352.
20.
Schwab-Stone, M. , Chen, C., Greenberger, E., Silver, D., Lichtman, J., & Voyce, C. (1999). No safe haven II: The effects of violence exposure on urban youth.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38, 359-367.
21.
Singer, M. I. , Anglin, T. M., Song, L. Y., & Lunghofer, L. (1995). Adolescents' exposure to violence and associated symptoms of psychological trauma.Journal of the American Medical Association, 273, 477-482.
22.
Stanton, B. , Baldwin, R. M., & Rachuba, L. (1997). A quarter century of violence in the United States: An epidemiologic assessment.Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 20, 269-282.
23.
Vrana, S. , & Lauterbach, D. (1994). Prevalence of traumatic events and post-traumatic stress symptoms in a nonclinical sample of college students.Journal of Traumatic Stress, 7, 289-302.
24.
Zung, W. K. (1971). A rating instrument for anxiety disorders, Psychosomatics, 12, 371-379.
