Citation

Schneider S. Child Abuse Negl. 2020; 104: e104473.

Affiliation

Simmons University School of Social Work, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115, United States. Electronic address: samantha.schneider@simmons.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104473

PMID

32244130

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether physical abuse and community violence exposure (CVE) at age 5 were independently associated with academic performance at age 9, whether these effects were mediated by externalizing and internalizing behaviors, and whether the effects of CVE on mental health and academic performance were observed after accounting for the effects of physical abuse.

METHODS: Data were drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Bayesian factor analysis was conducted in Mplus to form latent factors for internalizing behavior, externalizing behavior, and academic performance. Path analysis was then used to examine direct and indirect associations between CVE, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and academic performance.

RESULTS: CVE at age 5 was independently negatively associated with academic performance at age 9. Physical abuse at age 5 was not independently associated with academic performance at age 9. The effects of CVE and physical abuse on academic performance were mediated by externalizing behavior, and not internalizing behavior. CVE, externalizing behavior, and internalizing behavior all had a direct negative association with academic performance, after accounting for the effects of physical abuse on externalizing behavior.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The findings confirmed that community violence has a negative impact on school performance above and beyond the effects of interpersonal violence. These findings reinforce the need for communitywide prevention programs that reduce violence. These findings suggest that more attention needs to be paid to how younger children are impacted by CVE and physical abuse, both through their own experiences or the experiences of their caregivers.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Academic outcomes; Child maltreatment; Childhood exposure to community violence; Externalizing behaviors; Internalizing behaviors