Citation

McCabe KM, Lucchini SE, Hough RL, Yeh M, Hazen A. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 2005; 75(4): 575-584.

Affiliation

Child and Adolescent Services Research Center, Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA, US. kmccabe@casrc.org.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, American Orthopsychiatric Association, Publisher Wiley Blackwell)

DOI

10.1037/0002-9432.75.4.575

PMID

16262515

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that exposure to community violence, intimate partner violence, and child maltreatment independently contribute to the prediction of conduct problems over a 2-year period. Participants were a subsample of youth ages 12 to 17 years (N = 423) from the Patterns of Care study, which drew a stratified random sample of high-risk youth receiving services from public service sectors. Exposure to community violence significantly predicted conduct disorder and externalizing problems 2 years later when potential confounds were controlled. Child maltreatment predicted conduct disorder but not externalizing symptoms. Exposure to intimate partner violence was not related to either outcome. Exposure to community violence contributed to the development of conduct disorder and externalizing symptoms, even when exposure to child maltreatment or intimate partner violence was controlled. Results are discussed in terms of implications for treatment and prevention of youth conduct problems.