Community Violence Exposure and School Functioning in Youth: Cross-Country and Gender Perspectives.

Roman Koposov,Vladislav Ruchkin,Andrew Stickley,Johan Isaksson,Mary Schwab-Stone,Robert Vermeiren

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.692402

Abstract

Background: Many children and adolescents experience violent events which can be associated with negative consequences for their development, mental health, school, and social functioning. However, findings between settings and on the role of gender have been inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate cross-country and gender differences in the relationship between community violence exposure (CVE) and school functioning in a sample of youths from three countries.Methods: A self-report survey was conducted among school students (12–17 years old) in Belgium (Antwerp, N = 4,743), Russia (Arkhangelsk, N = 2,823), and the US (New Haven, N = 4,101). Students were recruited from within classes that were randomly selected from within schools that had themselves been randomly selected (excepting New Haven, where all students were included). CVE was assessed with the Screening Survey of Exposure to Community Violence. School functioning was assessed with four measures: the Perceived Teacher Support scale, Negative Classroom Environment scale, and Academic Motivation and Perception of Safety at School scales. Multivariate Analyses of Covariance were performed to assess differences in the levels of school-related problem behaviors in boys and girls, who reported different degrees of CVE.Results: Participants in all three countries reported a relatively high prevalence of violence exposure (36.2% in Belgium, 39.3% in Russia and 45.2% in the US who witnessed violence), with a higher proportion of girls than boys witnessing violent events (varied from 37.4 to 51.6% between the countries), whereas boys reported more episodes of victimization by violence than girls (varied from 32.3 to 49.9% between the countries). Youths who experienced increased CVE (from no exposure to witnessing to victimization) reported an increase in all school functioning problems in all of the countries and this association was not gender-specific.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that regardless of differences in the level of CVE by country and gender, violence exposure is negatively associated with school functioning across countries. Nonetheless, even though reactions to community violence among adolescents may be expressed in a similar fashion, cross-country differences in social support systems should also be taken into account in order to provide culturally sensitive treatment modalities.

Highlights

Community violence exposure (CVE) is usually defined as witnessing of, or victimization by a violence-related act within one’s home, school, or neighborhood between individuals who are unrelated, and who may or may not know each other [1]
While the prevalence of CVE varies across settings and is for example, higher in the United States compared to many European countries [3, 4], the widespread nature of this phenomenon has led to it being increasingly recognized as a global public health problem [1]
This study aims to: [1] assess the rates of CVE in three different countries and whether they differ by gender, and [2] explore whether a greater degree of exposure to community violence is associated with increasing problems in school-related functioning, whether such associations have a similar pattern in adolescents from different countries, and whether such patterns may be gender-specific

Summary

Introduction

Community violence exposure (CVE) is usually defined as witnessing of, or victimization by a violence-related act within one’s home, school, or neighborhood between individuals who are unrelated, and who may or may not know each other [1]. It has been linked both to clinical symptomatology and impairments in normal development, with negative consequences for mental health, substance use, social skills, relationships, and school functioning [6,7,8,9,10]. Children with a history of violence exposure may differ from others in their developmental trajectories, often experiencing cognitive and emotional difficulties or behavioral problems, which in turn can impair their daily functioning, especially in demanding social settings, such as schools [11]. Many children and adolescents experience violent events which can be associated with negative consequences for their development, mental health, school, and social functioning. This study aimed to investigate cross-country and gender differences in the relationship between community violence exposure (CVE) and school functioning in a sample of youths from three countries

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion