Pathologic adaptation to community violence among inner-city youth.
The study tests the thesis of pathologic adaptation for youth exposed to community violence, where high levels of exposure to community violence lead to increased aggressive behavior but decreased psychological distress. Four hundred seventy-one 6th graders and 1 of their parents were interviewed. The results showed, for a small but important subgroup of youth, that high levels of exposure to community violence were associated with more child- and parent-reported aggressive behavior and less child-reported psychological distress. Targeted prevention strategies for these high-risk youth are especially needed.
Ng-Mak
Daisy S
DS
Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Salzinger
Suzanne
S
Feldman
Richard S
RS
Stueve
C Ann
CA
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012931:Social Environment; D014505:Urban Population; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology*