Citation

Raviv A, Raviv A, Shimoni H, Fox NA, Leavitt LA. J. Appl. Dev. Psychol. 1999; 20(2): 337-353.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

Over 1,000 second and fourth graders from schools reported to have high or low levels of violence completed a group-administrated questionnaire designed to assess exposure to violence in young children. Exposure was measured for the school environment and for TV. Children also completed a questionnaire assessing symptoms of distress in children. Results showed that students in the high violence schools reported more exposure to violence than children in the low violence schools, boys reported more exposure than girls, and fourth graders reported more exposure than second graders. These results also add to the validity of the instrument used, showing that young children are capable of reporting their experiences accurately. Scores on the exposure to violence questionnaire were correlated with expressions of distress in children: children who reported high levels of exposure to violence also reported high levels of emotional distress.