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Article Summary

Gaylord-Harden, N. K., Cunningham, J. A., & Zelencik, B. (2011).
Effects of exposure to community violence on internalizing symptoms: Does desensitization to violence occur in African American youth? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39, 711–719. doi: 10.1007/s10802-011-9510-x

Statistics have provided evidence that African-American youth from low-income communities are exposed to higher levels of community violence compared to other youth. The authors of the study examine desensitization theories and assess the relationship between exposure to community violence and internalizing symptoms in a sample of 278 African-American adolescents from a low-income community. The study also examines the relationship between exposure to violence and development of depressive symptoms. The authors contacted five public schools from 4 inner-city communities of a large Midwestern city. The communities were selected based on low-income levels. Low-income was classified based on the students’ eligibility to free/reduced lunch programs. The youth participating in the sample ranged from 6th to 8th grade. The authors surveyed the youth through a set of questionnaires measuring demographic data, exposure to community violence, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. Participants’ experience with violence was measured in accordance with the violence/victimization subscale from the Multicultural Events Schedule for Adolescents; depressive symptoms were assessed following the Child Depression Inventory; while anxiety symptoms were assessed with the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. The authors noted that participants exposed to moderate increases in violence experienced more depressive symptoms; however, as violence increased, the depressive symptoms decreased. The authors of the study concluded that the findings do not necessarily suggest a desensitizing to violence, but instead reflect suppression of depressive symptoms as a coping mechanism. For instance, African-American male adolescents were more likely to respond to violence by carrying a weapon for protection rather than feeling depressed. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) also appeared common among youth who were exposed to violence, and youth with PTSD may underreport their symptoms of depression. The findings of this study are particularly significant for those interested in fostering intervention and treatment efforts for vulnerable youth. In particular, the study is a warning to clinicians and researchers screening for depressive symptoms among youth exposed to community violence, because these symptoms may be muted as a result of high levels of violence exposure. Gaylord-Harden and colleagues also suggest that African-American youth may be effectively served by community or school-based prevention programs.