Citation

Hill HM, Jones LP. J. Natl. Med. Assoc. 1997; 89(4): 270-276.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Howard University, Washington, DC, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, National Medical Association (USA))

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9145632

PMCID

PMC2608202

Abstract

This study examined child and parent perceptions of children's exposure to community violence in a sample of 9 to 12 year olds from high- and low-violence neighborhoods in Washington, DC. More than 75% of the African-American elementary school children sampled indicated that they had witnessed incidents of community violence ranging from homicides to nonfatal shootings, physical assaults, gang violence, robbery with assaults, and rape in their neighborhoods. Yet, almost half of the parents in the study denied that their children had been exposed to any community violence. When these discrepancies were examined, results revealed that children whose parents were in disagreement regarding their exposure to community violence were less likely to experience social support from their peers. Parents' possible lack of awareness as to the experience of their children may place them at further risk by eliminating the possibility for adult-child interaction and guidance regarding their experience with violence in their neighborhoods. Recommendations are provided to assist adults in addressing the needs of children exposed to community violence.

Language: en