Correlates and Consequences of Juvenile Exposure to Violence: A Replication and Extension of Major Findings from the National Survey of Adolescents, Final Report

摘要

The purpose of this study is to examine the consequences of exposure to violence on juveniles using data from the 1995 National Survey of Adolescents (NSA). The first objective of this study is to replicate and extend the original analysis of the NSA, performed by Kilpatrick et al. (2000). The second objective of this study is to examine the context and consequences of violence that is experienced at school. The initial study examined the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol or drug abuse or dependence. Using logistic regression analysis, this study finds important differences between the original study and the current analyses. Addition controls for family income, peer deviance and locations of witnessed violence eliminates the significance of PTSD in models of substance abuse/ dependence. In addition, one of the strongest predictors in the original analyses was witnessing violence. However, when the specific location of the violence is considered, this form of exposure to violence is only a risk factor for marijuana. However, modification of the dependent variables from abuse/dependence to measures of use indicate that witnessing violence in different locations is an important predictor of substance use. The second objective focuses on acts of violence that are witnessed in school. Students in all social and demographic groups are regularly exposed to a variety of acts of violence at school. Witnessing violence at school is a substantial risk factor for engaging in serious forms of delinquency, and increases the likelihood that juveniles believe there are serious problems with violence at school and in the community. Therefore, this study finds that while exposure to violence is a risk factor for various negative outcomes, it is important to consider where such violence occurs.