scholarly journals Using Police Data to Measure Children’s Exposure to Neighborhood Violence: A New Method for Evaluating Relations Between Exposure and Mental Health

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Boxer ◽  
Elizabeth Sloan-Power ◽  
Eric Piza ◽  
Ashley Schappell
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Internalizing Problems ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
Theory Building ◽  
Neighborhood Violence ◽  
Parent Reports ◽  
Police Data ◽  
Self Reports ◽  
Children’S Exposure

Studies have identified a robust association between children’s exposure to violence and their mental health. Yet, most of this research has been based on self-reported exposure and self-reported mental health. In this study, we used a new, map-based method via police data for measuring children’s exposure to violent crime and compared it to child self-reports and parent reports of exposure. Results suggest that child self-reports of violence exposure may not be valid except for exposure to murder, but police and parent reports of violent crime can reveal interesting relations between violence and mental health. Children showed higher levels of internalizing problems in the absence of police-reported murder and parent-reported robbery. Discussion emphasizes implications for measurement as well as theory building.

scholarly journals Weapon Involvement in the Victimization of Children

2017 ◽  
pp. 50-57
Author(s):  
Kimberly J. Mitchell ◽  
Sherry L. Hamby ◽  
Heather A. Turner ◽  
Anne Shattuck ◽  
Lisa M. Jones
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Safety Practices ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Children’S Exposure

OBJECTIVE To report the prevalence of weapons involved in the victimization of youth with particular emphasis on weapons with a “high lethality risk” and how such exposure fits into the broader victimization and life experiences of children and adolescents. METHODS Data were collected as part of the Second National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, a nationally representative telephone survey of youth ages 2 to 17 years and caregivers (N = 4114) conducted in 2011. RESULTS Estimates from the Second National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence indicate that almost 14 million youth, ages 2–17, in the United States have been exposed to violence involving a weapon in their lifetimes as witnesses or victims, or >1 in 5 children in this age group. More than 2 million youth in the United States (1 in 33) have been directly assaulted in incidents where the high lethality risk weapons of guns and knives were used. Differences were noted between victimizations involving higher and lower lethality risk weapons as well as between any weapon involvement versus none. Poly-victims, youth with 7 or more victimization types, were particularly likely to experience victimization with any weapon, as well as victimization with a highly lethal weapon compared with nonpoly-victims. CONCLUSIONS Findings add to the field’s broadening conceptualization of youth victimization highlighting the potentially highly consequential risk factor of weapon exposure as a component of victimization experiences on the mental health of youth. Further work on improving gun safety practices and taking steps to reduce children’s exposure to weapon-involved violence is warranted to reduce this problem.

Evidence of sexual orientation and gender differences in mental health outcomes for violent crime victims

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Cramer ◽  
Martha Shumway ◽  
Amanda M. Amacker ◽  
Dale E. McNiel ◽  
Sarah Holley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gender Differences ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Crime Victims ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
And Gender

scholarly journals Measuring child exposure to violence and mental health reactions in epidemiological studies: challenges and current issues

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristiane Seixas Duarte ◽  
Isabel Altenfelder Santos Bordin ◽  
Genevieve Rachel Green ◽  
Christina W. Hoven
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Traumatic Grief ◽  
Child Exposure ◽  
Grief In Children

This paper examines challenges and current issues involved in measuring exposure to different types of violence which are associated mental health problems in children and adolescents. Standardized measures suitable for epidemiological studies, selected based on their relevance in the current literature, are briefly described and commented. The assessment of child's exposure to violence may focus on a specific event (e.g., kidnapping), a specific context (e.g., war) or even of a certain type of exposure (e.g., intrafamilial physical violence). The assessment of child mental health after exposure to violence has traditionally focused on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - most frequently measured through non-diagnostic scales. However, other mental health reactions may be present and screening as well as diagnostic instruments which may be used to assess these reactions are also described. Two issues of emerging importance - the assessment of impairment and of traumatic grief in children - are also presented. Availability of culturally appropriate instruments is a crucial step towards proper identification of child mental health problems after exposure to violence.

scholarly journals Don't Think That Kids Aren't Noticing: Indirect Pathways to Children's Fear of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Radanović ◽  
Isidora Micić ◽  
Svetlana Pavlović ◽  
Ksenija Krstić
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Information Transmission ◽  
Trait Anxiety ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Children’S Exposure

The present study is couched within Rachman's three-pathway theory of fear acquisition (Rachman, 1977, 1991). Besides the direct contact with the objects of fear, this model also includes two indirect pathways to fear acquisition: negative information transmission and modeling. The study aims to explore the contribution of these three factors to the level of children's fear of COVID-19. The sample consisted of 376 children (59.6% girls), aged 7–19 (Mage = 12.77, SDage = 3.57), and one of their parents (Mage = 42.88, SDage = 6.00). The survey was conducted online during the COVID-19 national state of emergency in the Republic of Serbia. The children assessed their fear of COVID-19, general fearfulness, negative information transmission, and modeling by their parents, as well as the level of exposure to negative information outside their home. The parents assessed their own fear of COVID-19 and trait anxiety. Parents' anxiety, children's age, and children's general fearfulness were used as covariates. The results of our path analysis provide support for Rachman's notion of indirect pathways. The more the parents were afraid of COVID-19, the more they expressed this (either verbally or through their behavior), which in turn led to an increase in the children's fear of COVID-19. Furthermore, children's exposure to negative information related to COVID-19, provided by their teachers and peers or stemming from the media, directly contributed to the level of children's fear. The results of the study emphasize the importance of caregivers' behavior during global health crises and provide some clues as to what caregivers may do to protect their children's mental health in such circumstances.

Maternal Substance Abuse and Children's Exposure to Violence

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 360-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola A. Conners-Burrow ◽  
Betsy Johnson ◽  
Leanne Whiteside-Mansell
Keyword(s):  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Exposure To Violence ◽  
Maternal Substance Abuse ◽  
Children’S Exposure

Agreement between parent-reports and child self-reports of sleep problems in Chinese children

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianghong Liu ◽  
Guanghai Wang ◽  
Xiaopeng Ji ◽  
Naixue Cui ◽  
Xianchen Liu
Keyword(s):  
Sleep Problems ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Parent Reports ◽  
Self Reports

Predicting Violent Victimization Using Social Network Analysis From Police Data

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 436-454
Author(s):  
Andrew M. Fox ◽  
Kenneth J. Novak ◽  
Tinneke Van Camp ◽  
Chadley James
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Violent Crime ◽  
Violent Victimization ◽  
Crime Victimization ◽  
Effective Prevention ◽  
Police Data ◽  
Assault Victims

Extant research suggests that membership in crime networks explains vulnerability to violent crime victimization. Consequently, identifying deviant social networks and understanding their structure and individual members' role in them could provide insight into victimization risk. Identifying social networks may help tailor crime prevention strategies to mitigate victimization risks and dismantle deviant networks. Social network analysis (SNA) offers a particular means of comprehending and measuring such group-level structures and the roles that individuals play within them. When applied to research on crime and victimization, it could provide a foundation for developing precise, effective prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies. This study uses police data to examine whether individuals most central to a deviant social network are those who are most likely to become victims of violent crime, and which crime network roles are most likely to be associated with vulnerability to violent victimization. SNA of these data indicates that network individuals who are in a position to manage the flow of information in the network (betweenness centrality), regardless of their number of connections (degree centrality), are significantly more likely to be homicide and aggravated assault victims. Implications for police practice are discussed.

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