Community Violence Exposure in University Students: A Replication and Extension

• NCJ Number: 209500
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 253-272
• Author(s): Angela Scarpa; Deniz Fikretoglu; Felicia Bowser; Jimmy D. Hurley; Caroline A. Pappert; Nancy Romero; Elizabeth Van Voorhees
• Date Published: March 2002
• Length: 20 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

In replicating and extending Scarpa's findings on exposure to community violence in young, low-risk adults attending college, this study aimed to validate the Survey of Exposure to Community Violence (SECV), to develop detailed information on lifetime community-violence victimization and witnessing it among university students, and to assess the psychological impact of exposure to violence.

Abstract

Participants were 518 psychology students. Lifetime exposure to community violence was measured with the SECV, which is a questionnaire that solicits respondents reports on the frequency of having directly experienced or witnessed the following violence-related events: chased by gangs or individuals, robbed, threatened with serious physical harm, punched or hit by a family member, punched or hit by a nonfamily member, mugged, sexually assaulted, exposed to a weapon, seriously wounded by violence, stabbed, shot, and exposed to a dead body. Lifetime exposure to trauma was determined with the Vrana and Lauterbach Events Scale (VLES), which measures exposure to a variety of traumatic events, including interpersonal violence. Psychological adjustment was determined by summing items on each of five instruments that measured depression, trait anxiety, aggressive behavior, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and interpersonal problems associated with personality disorder. Based on responses, participants were divided into high, moderate, or low witnessing and victimization groups for community violence. The findings confirmed SECV validity, with violent trauma more often reported in moderate/high victimization groups. Respondents who reported witnessing violence composed 93.2 percent of the sample, and 76.4 percent reported being victimized by violence. The most frequent violent events reported involved being hit, threatened, or seeing a gun/knife used as a weapon. The most frequent perpetrators were nonfamily members, except for domestic violence. High-exposure groups reported greater depression, aggression, interpersonal problems, and PTSD symptoms. 7 tables, 4 notes, and 25 references