NCJ Number
179353
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 38 Issue: 4 Dated: April 1999 Pages: 359-367
Date Published
April 1999
Length
9 pages
Annotation
A survey of adolescent exposure to violence, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing behavior was administered to two cross-sectional samples of 6th, 8th, and 10 graders (2,748 in 1994 and 2,600 in 1996) in an urban school system to examine how gender, grade level, and ethnicity on the associations moderated the effects of exposure to violence.
Abstract
Approximately 1,100 adolescents participated in both surveys and served as the longitudinal sample. The Social and Health Assessment instrument served as the basis for the survey. Adolescents were asked questions about victimization by violence, witnessing violence, depressive symptoms, anxiety, somatization, antisocial behavior, and willingness to use physical aggression. Structural equation models indicated violence exposure was closely associated with both externalizing behavior and internalizing symptoms. The strength of this association was similar across gender and ethnic groups. However, violence exposure was more closely related with internalizing symptoms for younger adolescents than for their older counterparts. Longitudinal analysis suggested exposure to violence in 1994 was related to internalizing symptoms and externalizing behavior of adolescents in 1996. The results document high levels of violence exposure for urban youth and indicate links to a range of psychiatric symptoms and indicators of poor adjustment. Such findings have implications for direct clinical work with young people, as well as for program development and public policy. 28 references, 3 tables, and 2 figures