A Comparison of the Effects of Witnessing Community Violence and Direct Victimization Among Children in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

This study is based on a sample of children from the Cape Town area in South Africa. The study compares the effects of witnessing school or neighborhood violence compared with being victimized in each context on psychological distress. The findings suggest that in the context of the school, victimization has a somewhat stronger effect on distress than witnessing violence. However, in the neighborhood, the opposite was the case. "Unknown locus of control" was also analyzed as a moderating variable. The findings are interpreted in the context of violence in South African society. The study also investigates the overlap between witnessing violence, victimization, and perpetration in the child's school and neighborhood. The vast majority of victims had been witnesses as well as perpetrators. Longitudinal research, which could track involvement in various forms of violence starting at a very early age, is needed to clearly assess the differential impact of each form of violence.

Gender patterns in the contribution of different types of violence to posttraumatic stress symptoms among South African urban youth

“…Although direct comparison between our community sample and the national probability sample used by Zinzow et al (2009) is methodologically limited, it is possible that the much higher levels of witnessing violence reported in our sample may contribute to a desensitization effect for witnessed violence. However, in a previous South African study with a younger and more culturally diverse sample, Shields et al (2009) reported that both witnessed and direct victimization contributed independently to posttraumatic stress symptoms. It is therefore possible that the desensitization effect for witnessing violence may be more specific to Xhosa adolescents due to particular contextual or cultural factors.…”

“…While it is apparent that cumulative trauma exposure as well as specific forms of violence are associated with a range of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology among South African youth (Seedat, Nyamai, Njenga, Vythilingum, & Stein, 2004;Shields, Nadasen, & Pierce, 2008Suliman et al, 2009;Ward, Martin, Theron, & Distiller, 2007), the comparative contributions of particular forms of violence are less clear. One previous study reported that both community violence and childhood abuse contributed independently to PTSD symptoms in South African adolescents (Fincham, Korthals Altes, Stein, & Seedat, 2009), while another found that both witnessing and direct victimization in the community contributed independently to psychological distress (Shields et al, 2009).…”

“…One previous study reported that both community violence and childhood abuse contributed independently to PTSD symptoms in South African adolescents (Fincham, Korthals Altes, Stein, & Seedat, 2009), while another found that both witnessing and direct victimization in the community contributed independently to psychological distress (Shields et al, 2009). However, a more fine grained analysis of how different forms of direct and indirect violence contribute to mental health outcomes would help to further direct targeted interventions for polyvictimized South African youth.…”

Relationships Between Familial HIV/AIDS and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression: The Mediating Effect of Bullying Victimization in a Prospective Sample of South African Children and Adolescents

“…This evidence comes from both cross-sectional and prospective studies demonstrating a dose-response relationship between bullying victimization and mental health in different samples and using differing measures (Arseneault et al 2010;Fekkes et al 2006). More specifically, two cross-sectional South African studies have demonstrated relationships between bullying victimization, symptoms of anxiety, and depressive symptoms in community samples of children and adolescents (Cluver et al 2010;Shields et al 2009) and a recent prospective South African study has demonstrated that bullying victimization is predictive of internalising symptoms (including anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms) measured one year later, even after adjusting for poverty (Boyes et al 2014). Furthermore, in a large sample of South African children and adolescents, Cluver et al (2010) reported that caregiver HIV/AIDS-sickness and HIV/AIDS-related stigma are risk factors for bullying victimization.…”

La violence communautaire : portrait des jeunes Québécois

“…Selon certains auteurs, la violence communautaire réfère à la violence vécue en tant que victime ou témoin, près de la maison, de l'école et à l'intérieur du voisinage (Scarpa, 2003 ;Shields et al, 2009). Certaines études éta-blissent des distinctions selon que l'incident implique ou non une arme, une agression physique, ou selon l'endroit où l'acte violent est commis (Stein et al, 2003 ;Barroso et al, 2008).…”