Citation

Ceballo R, Ramirez C, Hearn KD, Maltese KL. J. Clin. Child Adolesc. Psychol. 2003; 32(4): 586-592.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 525 East University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. rosarioc@umich.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

14710467

Abstract

Poor, inner-city children are exposed to inordinately high rates of community violence. Although the link between exposure to violence and adverse mental health outcomes is well documented, less attention has focused on factors that may buffer children from negative outcomes. Using a sample of 163 4th- and 5th-grade children, this study investigated whether children's perceptions of parental monitoring moderate the relation between children's violence exposure and their psychological well-being, as assessed by depression and hopelessness. Greater exposure to community violence was associated with more symptoms of depression and feelings of hopelessness. Moreover, parental monitoring buffered to a certain extent the relation between violence exposure and psychological functioning. Increased monitoring had a positive impact on the psychological well-being of children who were less exposed to violence; however, as violence exposure increased, the impact of parental monitoring was attenuated.

Language: en