Assessing Exposure to Violence in Urban Youth

Abstract

This study reports on the development of a structured interview, My Exposure to Violence (My ETV), that was designed to assess child and youth exposure to violence. Eighty participants between the ages of 9 and 24 were assessed. Data from My ETV were fit to a Rasch model for rating scales, a technique that generates interval level measures and allows the characterization of both chronic and acute exposure. Results indicated that the fit statistics for six scales, covering both lifetime and past year victimization, witnessing of violence, and total exposure, were all good. These scales were found to have high internal consistency (r = .68 to .93) and test-retest reliability (r = .75 to .94). Evidence of construct validity was provided by the item analysis, which revealed a theoretically sensible ordering of item extremity, and also by analysis of bivariate associations. As expected, younger subjects generally reported less exposure to violence than did older subjects, males reported more exposure than did females, African-American subjects reported higher levels of exposure than did White subjects, violent offenders reported more exposure than did non-offenders, and those living in high crime areas reported more exposure than did those residing in low crime areas. Future areas of investigation and the potential contribution to studies of antisocial behavior and post-traumatic stress disorder are discussed.

Experiencing Violence as a Predictor of Drug Use Relapse among Former Drug Users in Baltimore, Maryland

“…Wave 3 survey items assessing experience of violence were based on the Selner-O'Hagan et al assessment. 22 History of experiencing violence was measured by these seven items: "Have you ever been: (1) chased when you thought that you could really get hurt; (2) hit, slapped, punched, or beaten up; (3) attacked with a weapon; (4) shot; (5) shot at but not actually wounded; (6) sexually assaulted, molested, or raped; and (7) threatened to seriously hurt." Experiencing violence in the past year was based on an affirmative report of any of the seven types of violence.…”

Socioeconomic Status, Stress, and Immune Markers in Adolescents With Asthma

“…In addition, lower SES has been associated with poorer psychological profiles (20). In healthy children, low SES has been associated with more frequent exposure to stressful life events (21)(22)(23), and children who live in low SES neighborhoods are more likely to report witnessing incidents of violence (24). Low SES also has been associated with greater threat interpretations during ambiguous life situations.…”

Violence Exposure, Psychological Trauma, and Suicide Risk in a Community Sample of Dangerously Violent Adolescents

“…The five factors are (1) witnessed violence in the neighborhood, (2) victimized by violence or witnessed violence at home, (3) witnessed violence at school, (4) witness or victim of a shooting or knife attack, and (5) victimized by violence at school or in the neighborhood (Singer et al, 1995). Several studies have demonstrated the validity of using child and adolescent self-reports of exposure to violence (Martinez and Richters, 1993;Pastore et al, 1996;Selner-O'Hagan et al, 1998;Singer et al, 1995Singer et al, , 1999Song et al, 1998).…”