Exposure to violence among urban school-aged children: is it only on television?
OBJECTIVE
To measure exposure to different types of violence among school-aged children in a primary care setting.


METHODS
Child interviews using an instrument measuring 4 types of exposure (direct victimization, witnessing, hearing reports, media). Violent acts measured include being beaten up, chased/threatened, robbed/mugged, stabbed/shot, killed.


METHODS
Pediatric primary care clinic of large urban hospital.


METHODS
Convenience sample of 175 children 9-12 years old and their mothers. A total of 53% of the children were boys, 55% were Hispanic, and 40% received public assistance.


RESULTS
All children had been exposed to media violence. A total of 97% (170/175) had been exposed to more direct forms of violence; 77% had witnessed violence involving strangers; 49% had witnessed violence involving familiar persons; 49% had been direct victims; and 31% had witnessed someone being shot, stabbed, or killed. Exposure to violence was significantly associated with being male.


CONCLUSIONS
Most school-aged children who visited a pediatric primary care clinic of a large urban hospital had directly experienced violence as witnesses and/or victims.
Purugganan
O H
OH
Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA. opurugganan@pol.net
Stein
R E
RE
Silver
E J
EJ
Benenson
B S
BS
D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009518:New York; D010372:Pediatrics; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*