Local violence's acute effects on children

摘要

Previous research has shown that stress can impair cognitive performance, and that youth exposed to community violence show elevated rates of symptoms associated with posttraumatic stress disorder. To determine the effect of local homicide on the cognitive performance of children across a community, Patrick Sharkey (pp. 11733-11738) analyzed data from Chicago homicide reports and reading and vocabulary assess-rnments conducted during the same timeframe among a sample of Chicago children aged 5-17. Sharkey found that African-American children who were tested within 1 week after a local homicide scored substantially lower than peers in the same neighborhood who were assessed at different times, regardless of whether the child witnessed the violent act directly.