Children's Experiences of Violence: Some Have Much More Than Others

• NCJ Number: 217566
• Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal Volume: 31 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 3-6
• Author(s): John M. Leventhal
• Date Published: January 2007
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reviews the methodology and findings of Finkelhor, Ormrod, and Turner's study (2007) of a nationally representative sample of children's experiences of violence and the associated mental health consequences.

Abstract

The study found that children who had experienced a variety of types of violence were more likely than children who experienced only a few types of violence to score in the clinical range on mental health measures. Also, experiencing a variety of types of violence significantly decreased the association between specific types of victimization and the mental health outcomes for the victims. Twenty-two percent of the sample had experienced at least four types of violence in the previous year. These findings present a number of challenges for practice and further research. One challenge for both clinicians and researchers is to determine how to improve asking women about domestic violence when children may be witnesses to this type of violence. An even more complex challenge is to develop an appropriate method for detecting children's experiences of the 34 types of violence covered in the current study. Another challenge is to obtain data on the mental health consequences of various types of violence and their various combinations. The study findings also challenge practitioners to prevent the recurrence of each type of violence experienced by a child and to provide appropriate mental health services. The study involved a nationally representative sample of children 2-17 years old who were living in the contiguous United States. Respondents included 1,000 children over 9 years old and 1,030 caregivers of younger children. Respondents were asked about children's experiences of 34 types of violence clustered into 6 groups. Questions about mental health consequences focused on anxiety, depressive symptoms, and anger/aggression. 9 references