Violent Events Reported by Normal Urban School-Aged Children: Characteristics and Depression Correlates

Abstract

Objective This paper reports data on the prevalence of morbid thoughts of death or injury and the experiences of violence for a sample of 6 to 12 year old urban school children and examines the relationship of these thoughts and experiences to the child's emotional health. Method Fifty-seven of the sample of 223 children who attended the same inner-city school described violent events occurring to themselves, a relative or friend. All children were interviewed and assessed on the Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R). Results Significantly higher CDRS-R sum scores, indicating the presence of suspected depression or of clinical concern, were recorded for the 57 children reporting experiences with violence. As well, the subgroup of 57 children were significantly more distressed by specific symptoms of low self-esteem, weeping, and worries about death or injury. Conclusions Finding so many children reporting violent events occurring in their homes and community and that these children's experiences of violence were associated with emotional disturbances such as depression, dysphoric mood, low self-esteem, and excessive fears and worries about death or injury suggests the need for routine examination of the history of exposure to violence in the evaluation of inner-city children.