Citation

Schwartz D, Proctor LJ. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 2000; 68(4): 670-683.

Affiliation

Psychology Department, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90089, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, American Psychological Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10965642

Abstract

This study reports a cross-sectional investigation of the relation between community violence exposure and peer group social maladjustment in 285 inner-city children in Grades 4-6 (mean age = 10.3 years). Children completed an inventory assessing exposure to community violence through witnessing and through direct victimization. A peer nomination inventory was then administered to assess social adjustment with peers (aggression, peer rejection, and bullying by peers). In addition, social-cognitive biases and emotion regulation capacities were examined as potential mediators. Analyses indicated that violent victimization was associated with negative social outcomes through the mediation of emotion dysregulation. Witnessed violence was linked only to aggressive behavior. Social information processing, rather than emotion dysregulation, appeared to mediate this association. These results demonstrate that violence exposure is linked to multiple levels of behavioral and social maladjustment and suggest that there are distinct patterns of risk associated with different forms of exposure.

Language: en