Children's Exposure To Violence

The Impact of Violence on Children
Increasingly over the past years, violence has been characterized as a “public health epidemic.” Children are exposed to violence in communities, in families, andin media.

The homicide number among young people ages 15 to 24 has more than doubled.

Children’s Exposure to Violence
Children exposure to different types of violence varies. Some children,example those living in low-income areas, experience “chronic community violence” with continual exposure to the use of guns, knives, drugs, and violence in their neighborhoods.

It is now rare inurban schools not to find children exposed to such negative events. Children witness violence, including shootings and beatings, as if they were ordinary, everyday events.

Exposure to communityviolence occurs less frequently for children who do not live in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods, but exposure to family and media violence is very common in all groups in our society.

With the sales andrentals of cds, movies, pay-per-view TV, cable TV, video games, and online interactive computer games, many more children and adolescents are exposed to media with violent content than ever before.Exposure to violence can have significant effects on children during their development and as they form their own intimate relationships in childhood and adulthood.

Developmental Differences inthe Effects of Exposure
While children are affected by violence exposure at all ages, less is known about the consequences of exposure at younger ages.

Many people assume that very young childrenare not affected believing that they are too young to know or remember what has happened. But studies indicate that there are links between exposure to violence and negative behaviors in children inall age ranges.

The Crucial Role of Parents
The most important protective resource to enable a child to cope with exposure to violence is a strong relationship with a caring, positive adult,...