Data on this issue come primarily from the 2008, 2011, and 2014 National Surveys of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), the first nationally representative survey on these topics. Youth ages 10 and older were interviewed directly; for children younger than 10, interviews were conducted with their adult caregivers. The survey’s sponsors believe that the data likely understate children’s actual exposure to violence, because they rely on family members to report incidents, some of which may be undisclosed, minimized, or not recalled.[18]
The survey measured the following categories of violence: assaults (including from peers and when there is no weapon or injury), sexual victimization, child maltreatment by an adult, and witnessed victimization. Witnessing violence includes any witness of family assault and assault in the community, exposure to shooting, and exposure to war.
Endnotes
[1]Finkelhor, D., Turner, H. A., Shattuck, A., & Hamby, S. L. (2015). Prevalence of childhood exposure to violence, crime, and abuse: Results from the national survey of children’s exposure to violence. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(8), 746-754. As used here, violence includes assaults, sexual victimization, child maltreatment by an adult, and witnessed and indirect victimization.
[4]Finkelhor, et al. (2009). Op. cit.
[5]Duke, N. N., Pettingell, S. L., McMorris, B. J., and Borowsky, I. W. (2010). Adolescent violence perpetration: Associations with multiple types of adverse childhood experiences. Pediatrics, 124(4), e778-e786.
[6]Sharkey, P. T., Tirado-Shaver, N., Papachristos, A. V., & Raver, C. C. (2012). American Journal of Public Health, 102(12), 2287-2293.
[7]Sharkey, P. (2010). The acute effect of local homicides on children’s cognitive performance. PNAS, 107(26), 11733-11738.
[8]National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2010). Persistent fear and anxiety can affect young children’s learning and development: Working paper No. 9. Retrieved from www.developingchild.net.
[9]Margolin and Elana. (2004). Op. cit.
[10]Finkelhor, et al. (2009). Op. cit.
[11]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006). Physical dating violence among high school students–United States, 2003. MMWR, 55 (19), 532-535. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5519.pdf
[12]Finkelhor, et al. (2009). Op. cit.
[13]Finkelhor, et al. (2015). Op. cit.
[14]Finkelhor, et al. (2009). Op. cit.
[15]Finkelhor, et al. (2015). Op. cit.
[18]Finkelhor, D., Turner, H. A., Shattuck, A., & Hamby, S. L. (2013). Violence, crime, and abuse exposure in a national sample of children and youth: An update. JAMA Pediatrics, 167(7), 614-621.