Citation

Lewis T, Kotch J, Thompson R, Litrownik AJ, English DJ, Proctor LJ, Runyan DK, Dubowitz H. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry 2010; 80(4): 443-450.

Affiliation

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Juvenile Protective Association San Diego State University University of Washington San Diego State University University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, American Orthopsychiatric Association, Publisher Wiley Blackwell)

DOI

10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01047.x

PMID

20950286

Abstract

Witnessed violence has significant negative consequences for youth behavior and mental health. However, many findings on the impact of witnessed violence have been based on a single informant. There is a general lack of consistency between caregiver and youth reports on both witnessed violence and behavioral problems. This study included data from both caregivers and youth and incorporated a multisource analytic approach to simultaneously examine the association between youth witnessed violence and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Data from 875 caregivers and 812 youth were collected as part of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Findings showed that youth reported more witnessed violence than did their caregivers, and caregivers reported more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems than did youth. Further, the source of information had a significant impact on the association between witnessed violence and internalizing behaviors. These findings highlight the need to incorporate multiple sources and multi-informant analytic techniques to eliminate methodological limitations to understanding the effect of witnessed violence on youth behavioral problems.

Language: en