Citation

Aisenberg E, Ayón C, Orozco-Figueroa A. J. Interpers. Violence 2008; 23(11): 1555-1578.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260508314318

PMID

18349341

Abstract

This study seeks to (a) identify and measure the lifetime exposure to community violence of 137 African American and Latino middle school students from a low income neighborhood and apply numerical weights to each violent event; (b) examine the relationship between the objective severity of child self reported violence exposure and the child's subjective perception of the most bothersome event; and (c) examine the relationship between child's exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Results highlight that students' designation of their most bothersome exposure to community violence did not correspond to the most severe violent event they experienced. Regression analyses reveal the weight of the most severe event explains a larger percentage of the variance in PTSD compared with the relationship to victim, level of exposure, weight of the most bothersome exposure, and cumulative weight of all exposure. This study underscores the importance of assessing a child's perception of violent events.

Language: en