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Youth Exposed to Violence: Stability, Co-occurrence, and Context

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Abstract

With considerable literature establishing how separate types of violence disrupt the lives of children, there is emerging interest in examining violence across multiple interpersonal domains. This article examines four commonly occurring and frequently researched domains of violence exposure: marital physical aggression, mother-to-youth aggression, father-to-youth aggression, and community violence. A community-based sample of 103 parents and youth provided three waves of data at annual intervals beginning when the youth were aged 9–10. We explored stability of exposure, co-occurrence across different types of violence exposure, and associations with co-occurring risk factors. Approximately 30–45% of youth reported intermittent exposure over the 3 years. In addition to overlap among types of violence exposure within the family, we found overlap between parent-to-youth aggression and community violence, an association that was exacerbated in families where fathers reported high levels of global distress symptoms. Mother-to-youth, father-to-youth, and community violence related to youth behavior problems beyond the contextual risk factors of low income, stressful life events, and parents’ global distress symptoms. These results highlight the importance of examining violence longitudinally, across multiple types, and with attention to contextual factors.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this project came from NIH-NICHD Grant R01 HD046807 awarded to Margolin, Gordis, and Oliver, and from a David & Lucile Packard Foundation Grant 00-12802 awarded to Margolin. This work also was supported by NIMH NRSA F31 MH074201 awarded to Vickerman, and K23 HD041428 awarded to Gordis. We are grateful to the families who generously participated in the study. We also appreciate the efforts of other members of the USC Family Studies Project, including Mona Elyousef, Angèle Fauchier, Kathryn Gardner, Monica Ghalian, Elyse Guran, Catherine Delsol Haudek, Adabel Lee, Deborah Chien Liu, Anna Marie Medina, Laura Proctor, and Martha Rios for their collaboration.

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  1. Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, SGM 930, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-1061, USA

    Gayla Margolin, Katrina A. Vickerman, Michelle C. Ramos, Sarah Duman Serrano, Esti Iturralde & Lauren A. Spies

  2. Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY, USA

    Elana B. Gordis

  3. Department of Child and Adolescent Studies, California State University, Fullerton, CA, USA

    Pamella H. Oliver

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  1. Gayla Margolin
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Correspondence to Gayla Margolin.

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Margolin, G., Vickerman, K.A., Ramos, M.C. et al. Youth Exposed to Violence: Stability, Co-occurrence, and Context. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 12, 39–54 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-009-0040-9

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