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Article Summary

Bender, J., & Roberts, M. (2009).
Exposure to violence, perceived peer relationships, and corresponding psychological sequelae. Journal of Child and Family Studies 18(3), 350.

The authors examine the prevalence of exposure to violence and victimization and negative psychological outcomes among children. They draw from previous research that suggests that children living in inner-city urban environments are exposed to violence on a regular basis (see Berman et al., 1996; Fitzpatrick and Boldizer, 1993; McCart et al., 2007). Chronic exposure to violence has been linked to emotional and behavioral problems in children, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and increased aggression. But Bender and Roberts question its effect on peer relationships, although they do hypothesize that chronic exposure to community and family violence may inhibit children’s abilities to develop meaningful social relationships, which may in turn affect their ability to adapt to their environment and increase negative psychological and behavioral outcomes. The participants in their study were drawn from a summer camp for low-income, at-risk middle school youth (ages 11–14) in a major metropolitan area in the Midwest. The findings were consistent with previous research. Over 90% of the children in the sample reported directly witnessing a violent act in their home or community, the most common being hearing or seeing gunfire (75% of the sample). Furthermore, 42% of respondents witnessed a “beating or a mugging,” and 11% reported witnessing a murder. About 63% of respondents also reported being victims of a violent crime, most commonly being “hurt by a non-family member.” The correlational analyses revealed a significant relationship between exposure to violence and behavioral difficulty (r=.326; p<.05). However, the relationship between direct victimization and negative behavioral outcomes was stronger (r=.497; p<.001). The efforts to delineate the effect of exposure to violence, witnessing violence, and victimization revealed that witnessing violence did not have a significant effect on negative behavioral outcomes. Moreover, the interaction models built to test the mediating effect of loneliness on exposure to violence and negative behavioral outcomes were not significant; becoming a victim of violence was not associated with increased loneliness. These findings did not support the authors’ hypotheses regarding the relationship between exposure to chronic violence, loneliness, and behavioral problems. In fact, Bender and Roberts suggest the results may indicate that the opposite is true: children who experience chronic violence in their homes and communities may turn to their peers for support.

Additional references:

Berman, S., Kurtines, W., Silverman, W., & Serafine, L. (1996). The impact of exposure to crime and violence on urban youth. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 66, 329–336. doi:10.1037/h0080183.

Fitzpatrick, K., & Boldizar, J. (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. doi:10.1097/00004583-199303000-00026.

McCart, M., Smith, D., Saunders, B., Kilpatrick, D., Resnick, H., & Ruggiero, K. (2007). Do urban adolescents become desensitized to community violence? Data from a national survey. The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 77, 434–442. doi: 10.1037/0002-9432.77.3.434.