Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-q6k6v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-12T09:43:42.707Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

16 - Positive Adaptation among Youth Exposed to Community Violence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

By
Deborah Gorman-Smith  and
Patrick H. Tolan
Edited by
Suniya S. Luthar
Deborah Gorman-Smith
Affiliation:
Institute for Juvenile Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Patrick H. Tolan
Affiliation:
Institute for Juvenile Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL
Suniya S. Luthar
Affiliation:
Columbia University, New York
Get access

Summary

Exposure to community violence threatens the well-being of children in several ways. Living in communities plagued by violence threatens the very core of what is needed for healthy development and is related to a host of short- and long-term developmental problems (Bell & Jenkins, 1993; Cooley-Quill, Boyd, Frantz, & Walsh, 2001; Gorman-Smith & Tolan, 1998; Richters & Martinez, 1993; Schwab-Stone et al., 1995). Unfortunately, although it is possible to list many problems and disorders associated with exposure to community violence, we can say very little based on scientific study about variations in outcome, relations between specific types of exposure and outcome, and mechanisms through which children who are exposed do better or worse. We know that some children appear to suffer symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder or other types of internalizing disorders, and others seem to react by becoming more aggressive or showing greater behavioral problems. However, we know little about how and why these different reactions occur. We also have few empirically based treatments for children exposed to chronic community violence, and even less work has been conducted on how to protect children from exposure in the first place. So, although it is clear that exposure to community violence can harm children, the scientific knowledge base on promoting positive adaptation among youth exposed to community violence is very sketchy.

Type
Chapter
Information
Resilience and Vulnerability
Adaptation in the Context of Childhood Adversities
 , pp. 392 - 413
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Acosta, O. M., Albus, K., Reynolds, M. W., Spriggs, D., & Weist, M. D. (2001). Assessing the status of research on violence-related problems among youth. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 152–160CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Attar, B. K., Guerra, N. G., & Tolan, P. H. (1994). Neighborhood disadvantage, stressful life events, and adjustment in urban elementary-school children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 23, 391–400CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, C. C., & Jenkins, E. J. (1993). Community violence and children on Chicago's southside. Psychiatry, 56, 46–54CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Braga, A. A., Kennedy, D. M., Waring, E. J., & Piehl, A. M. (2001). Problem-oriented policing, deterrence, and youth violence: An evaluation of Boston's operation ceasefire. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 38, 195–225CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1988). Interacting systems in human development. Research paradigms: Present and future. In N. Bolger, A. Caspi, G. Downey, & M. Moorehouse (Eds.), Persons in context: Developmental processes (pp. 25–49). New York: Cambridge University Press
Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G. J., & Aber, J. L. (1997). Neighborhood poverty. New York: Russell Sage Foundation
Cairns, R. B., & Cairns, B. D. (1994). Lifelines and risks: Pathways of youth in our time. New York: Cambridge University Press
Catalano, R. F., Berglund, M. L., Ryan, J. A., Lonczak, H. C., & Hawkins, J. D. (1998). Positive youth development in the U.S.: Research findings of positive youth development programs. Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Cicchetti, D., & Lynch, M. (1993). Toward an ecological/transactional model of community violence and child maltreatment: Consequences for children's development. Psychiatry, 56, 96–118CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cicchetti, D., & Rizley, R. (1981). Developmental perspectives on the etiology, intergenerational transmission, and sequelae of child maltreatment. New Directions for Child Development, 11, 31–55CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coleman, J. S. (1990). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95–S120CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooley-Quille, M., Boyd, R. C., Frantz, E., & Walsh, J. (2001). Emotional and behavioral impact of exposure to community violence in inner-city adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 199–206CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dodge, K. A., Bates, J. E., & Pettit, G. S. (1990). Mechanisms in the cycle of violence. Science, 250, 1678–1683CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dyson, J. (1990). The effects of family violence on children's academic performance and behavior. Journal of the National Medical Association, 82, 17–22Google Scholar
Farrell, A. D., & Bruce, S. E. (1997). Impact of exposure to community violence on violent behavior and emotional distress among urban adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26, 2–14CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farrington, D., & Welsh, B. (1999). Delinquency prevention using family based interventions. Children and Society, 13, 287–3033.0.CO;2-Z>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzpatrick, K. M. (1993). Exposure to violence and presence of depression among low-income African-American youth. Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology, 61, 528–531CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fitzpatrick, K. M., & Boldizar, J. P. (1993). The prevalence and consequences of exposure to violence among African-American youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 424–430CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Freud, A., & Burlingham, D. (1943). War and children. New York: Ernest Willard
Furstenberg, F. (1993). How families manage risk and opportunity in dangerous neighborhoods. In W. J. Wilson (Ed.), Sociology and the public agenda (pp. 231–258). Newbury Park, CA: SageCrossRef
Furstenberg, F., & Hughes, M. E. (1997). The influence of neighborhoods on children's development: A theoretical perspective and research agenda. In J. Brooks-Gunn, G. J. Duncan, & L. Aber (Eds.), Neighborhood poverty: Policy implications in studying neighborhoods (pp. 23–47). New York: Russell Sage Foundation
Garbarino, J. (2001). An ecological perspective on the effects of violence on children. Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 361–378CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garbarino, J., Dubrow, N., Kostelny, K., & Pardo, C. (1992). Children in anger. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Garbarino, J., Kostelny, K., & Dubrow, N. (1991). What children can tell us about living in danger. American Psychologist, 46, 376–383CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garbarino, J., & Sherman, D. (1980). High-risk neighborhoods and high-risk families: The human ecology of maltreatment. Child Development, 51, 188–198CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garmezy, N. (1993). Children in poverty: Resilience despite risk. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 56, 127–136CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garmezy, N., & Masten, A. S. (1990). The adaptation of children to a stressful world: Mastery of fear. In L. E. Arnold (Ed.), Childhood stress. Wiley series in child and adolescent mental health (pp. 460–473). New York: Wiley
Gorman-Smith, D., & Tolan, P. H. (1998). The role of exposure to community violence and developmental problems among inner-city youth. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 101–116CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., & Henry, D. B. (1999). The relation of community and family to risk among urban-poor adolescents. In P. Cohen, C. Slomkowski, & L. Robins (Eds.), Historical and geographical influences on psychopathology (pp. 349–367). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., & Henry, D. B. (2000). A developmental-ecological model of the relation of family functioning to patterns of delinquency. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 16, 169–198CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., Henry, D. B., Quintana, E., & Lutovsky, K. (in press). SAFE children: A preventive intervention for urban families. (In J. Szapocznik, P. Tolan, & S. Sombrano (Eds.), Preventive interventions for substance use: Preschool through adolescence
Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., Zelli, A., & Huesmann, L. R. (1996). The relation of family functioning to violence among inner-city minority youths. Journal of Family Psychology, 10, 115–129CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horowitz, K., Weine, S., & Jekel, J. (1995). PTSD symptoms in urban adolescent girls: Compounded community trauma. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1353–1361CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Janis, I. (1951). Air war and emotional stress. New York: McGraw-Hill
Jenkins, E. J., & Bell, C. C. (1994). Violence exposure, psychological distress, and high risk behaviors among inner-city high school students. In S. Friedman (Ed.), Anxiety disorders in African-Americans (pp. 76–88). New York: Springer
Jenkins, E. J., & Bell, C. C. (1997). Exposure and response to community violence among children and adolescents. In J. D. Osofsky (Ed.), Children in a violent society (pp. 9–31). New York: Guilford Press
Kennedy, D. M., Braga, A. A., & Piehl, A. M. (1997). The (un)known universe: Mapping gangs and gang violence in Boston. In D. Weisburd & J. T. McEwen (Eds.), Crime mapping and crime prevention (pp. 219–262). New York: Criminal Justice Press
Kliewer, W., Leport, S. J., Oskin, D., & Johnson, P. D. (1998). The role of social and cognitive processes in children's adjustment to community violence. Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology, 66, 199–209CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luthar, S. S. (1991). Vulnerability and resilience: A study of high-risk adolescents. Child Development, 62, 600–616CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luthar, S. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2000). The construct of resilience: Implications for interventions and social policies. Development and Psychopathology, 12, 857–885CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 543–562CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luthar, S. S., Doernberger, C. H., & Zigler, E. (1993). Resilience is not a unidimensional construct: Insights from a prospective study of inner-city adolescents. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 703–717CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1998). An ecological-transactional analysis of children and contexts: The longitudinal interplay among child maltreatment, community violence, and children's symptomatology. Development and Psychopathology, 10(2), 235–257CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martinez, P., & Richters, J. E. (1993). The NIMH Community violence project: II. Children's distress symptoms associated with violence exposure. In D. Reiss, J. E. Richters, M. Radke-Yarrow, & D. Scharff (Eds.), Children and violence (pp. 22–35). New York: Guilford Press
Miller, L. S., Wasserman, G. A., Neugebauer, R., Gorman-Smith, D., & Kamboukos, D. (1999). Witnessed community violence and anti-social behavior in high-risk-urban boys. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28, 2–11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nader, K., Pynoos, R. S., Fairbanks, L., & Frederick, C. (1990). Childhood PTSD reactions one year after a sniper attack. Journal of the American Psychiatric Association, 147, 1526–1530Google Scholar
Osofsky, J. D. (1995). The effects of exposure to violence on young children. American Psychologist, 50, 782–788CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Osofsky, J. D., Cohen, G., & Drell, M. (1995). The effects of trauma on young children: A case of two-year-old twins. International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 76, 595–608Google Scholar
Perry, B. D. (1997). Incubated in terror: Neurodevelopmental factors in the “cycle of violence.” In J. D. Osofsky (Ed.), Children in a violent society (pp. 124–149). New York: Guilford Press
Perry, B. D., & Pate, J. E. (1994). Neurodevelopment and the psychobiological roots of post-traumatic stress disorders. In L. F. Koziol & C. E. Stout (Eds.), The neuropsychology of mental illness: A practical guide (pp. 129–147). Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas
Perry, B. D., Pollard, R., Blakley, T., Baker, W., & Vigilante, D. (1995). Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaption, and “use-dependent” development of the brain: How “states” become “traits.”Infant Mental Health Journal, 16, 271–2913.0.CO;2-B>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piehl, A. M., Kennedy, D. M., & Braga, A. A. (2000). Problem solving and youth violence: An evaluation of the Boston gun project. American Law and Economics Review, 2, 58–106CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pynoos, R. S. (1993). Traumatic stress and development psychopathology in children and adolescents. In J. M. Oldham, M. B. Riba, & A. Tasman (Eds.), Review of psychiatry, 12 (pp. 205–237). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press
Pynoos, R. S., & Eth, S. (1984). Child as a criminal witness to homicide. Journal of Social Issues, 40, 87–108CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pynoos, R. S., & Nader, K. (1986). Children's exposure to violence and traumatic death. Psychiatric Annals, 20, 334–344CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pynoos, R. S., & Nader, K. (1988). Psychological first aid: For children who witness community violence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 1, 445–473CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reese, L. E., Vera, E. M., Thompson, K., & Reyes, R. (2001). A qualitative investigation of perceptions of youth violence risk factors in low-income African American children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 161–171CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richters, J. E., & Martinez, P. E. (1993). Violent communities, family choices, and children's chances: An algorithm for improving the odds. Development and Psychopathology, 5, 609–627CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M. (1989). Psychiatric disorder in parents as a risk factor for children. In D. Schaffer, I. Phillips, & N. B. Enzer (Eds.), Prevention of mental disorders, alcohol and other drug use in children and adolescents (OSAP Prevention Monograph No. 2, DHHS Pub. No. ADM 89-1646, pp. 16–26). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office
Sampson, R. J. (1997). The embeddedness of child and adolescent development: A community-level perspective on urban violence. In J. McCord (Ed.), Violence and childhood in the inner city (pp. 31–77). Cambridge: Cambridge University PressCrossRef
Sampson, R. J. (2001). How do communities undergird or undermine human development? Relevant contexts and social mechanisms. In A. Booth & A. C. Crouter (Eds.), Does it take a village? Community effects on children, adolescents, and families (pp. 3–30). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
Sampson, R. J., & Laub, J. H. (1994). Urban poverty and the family context of delinquency: A new look at structure and process in a classic study. Child Development, 65, 523–539CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sampson, R. J., & Morenoff, J. (1997). Ecological perspectives on the neighborhood context of urban poverty: Past and present. In J. Brooks-Gunn, G. Duncan, & L. Aber (Eds.), Neighborhood poverty: Policy implications in studying neighborhoods (pp. 1–22). New York: Russell Sage Foundation
Sampson, R., Raudenbush, S., & Earls, F. (1997). Neighborhood and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science, 277, 918–924CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwab-Stone, M. E., Ayers, T. S., Kasprow, W., Voyce, C., Barone, C., Shriver, T., & Weissberg, R. P. (1995). No safe haven: A study of violence exposure in an urban community. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1343–1352CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seifer, R., & Sameroff, A. J. (1987). Multiple determinants of risk and invulnerability. In J. Anthony & B. J. Cohler (Eds.), The invulnerable child (pp. 51–69). New York: Guilford Press
Sheidow, A. J., Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P. H., & Henry, D. B. (2001). Family and community characteristics: Risk factors for violence exposure in inner-city youth. Journal of Community Psychology, 29, 345–360CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singer, M. I., Anglin, T. M., Song, L. Y., & Lunghofer, L. (1995). Adolescents' exposure to violence and associated symptoms of psychological trauma. Journal of the American Medical Association, 273, 477–482CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sullivan, M. L. (1989). Getting paid: Youth, crime and work in the inner-city. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press
Szapocznik, J., & Coatsworth, J. D. (1999). An ecodevelopmental framework for organizing the influences on drug abuse: A developmental model of risk and protection. In M. Glantz & C. R. Hartel (Eds.), Drug abuse: Origins and interventions, (pp. 331–366). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association
Thornberry, T. P., Huizinga, D., & Loeber, R. (1995). The prevention of serious delinquency and violence: Implications from the Program of Research on the Causes and Correlates of Delinquency. In J. C. Howell, B. Krisberg, J. D. Hawkins, & J. J. Wilson (Eds.), Sourcebook of serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders (pp. 213–237). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Tolan, P. H., & Gorman-Smith, D. (1997). Families and the development of urban children. In O. Reyes, H. Walberg, & R. Weissberg (Eds), Interdisciplinary perspectives on children and youth (pp. 67–91). Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Tolan, P. H., Gorman-Smith, D., & Henry, D. B. (in press). Developmental ecology of family and peer influence on delinquency, Developmental PsychologyGoogle Scholar
Tolan, P. H., & Guerra, N. G. (1994). What works in reducing adolescent violence: An empirical review of the field. Monograph prepared for the Center for the Study and Prevention of Youth Violence. Boulder: University of Colorado
Tolan, P. H., Quintana, E., & Gorman-Smith, D. (1998). Prevention approaches for families. In L. L' Abate (Ed.). Family psychopathology: The relational roots of dysfunctional behavior (pp. 379–400). New York: Guilford Press
Weiss, M. J. S., & Wagner, S. H. (1998). What explains the negative consequences of adverse childhood experiences on adult health? Insights from cognitive and neuroscience research. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 14, 356–360Google ScholarPubMed
Werner, E. E. (1990). Protective factors and individual resilience. In S. J. Meisels & J. P. Shonkoff (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention (pp. 97–116). New York: Cambridge University Press
Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Zeanah, C. H., & Scheeringa, M. S. (1997). The experience and effects of violence in infancy. In J. D. Osofsky (Ed.), Children in a violent society (pp. 97–123). New York: Guilford Press

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×