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Topic Editor: Richard E. Tremblay, PhD, Université de Montréal, Canada and University College Dublin, Ireland
Topic funded by: Bernard van Leer Foundation
Young children are especially vulnerable to social violence due to their limited abilities to regulate their psychological distress, reduce the threat or remove themselves from the situation. By being exposed to direct or indirect forms of social violence, they are likely to experience severe, uncontrollable and chronic stress, in turn influencing brain systems that respond to stress. More precisely, heightened exposure to community violence creates a constant state of fear by increasing children’s sensitivity to external stimuli (e.g., sounds) and by reducing their ability to refrain from engaging in a particular action. Accordingly, these reactions put them at increased risk of developing mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), experiencing negative health, social and educational outcomes and engaging in risky behaviours (e.g., substance abuse, aggression) throughout childhood and adulthood. These adjustment problems are also likely to occur when children experience corporal punishment. Instead of improving disruptive behaviours, parents’ use of physical force actually predicts more aggressive, delinquent and antisocial behaviours in children.
It is important to bear in mind that factors, such as children’s age and gender, the degree and the type of exposure (direct or indirect, through its impact on caregivers) and the cultural context, all influence the negative impact of social violence on children. For instance, the effect of community violence on internalizing problems (e.g., depression, anxiety) is stronger for younger children than for older ones. However, as they grow older, children become increasingly engaged in response to community violence and experience more externalizing problems (e.g., aggressive/violent behaviours) than younger children. Children living in economically-disadvantaged neighbourhoods are the most at risk of being exposed to community violence. Lastly, children’s behavioural responses to community violence are influenced by their mother’s reaction to violent events. Research findings indicate that maternal depressive behaviours in response to community violence tend to increase children’s problem behaviours.
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