Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115068

Nina Fredland, PhD(c) RN, CS, FNP and Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN. School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, 525 N. Wolfe, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-955-1816, nfredla1@son.jhmi.edu

3.3 to 10 million youth in the USA are exposed to community, peer and family violence. Most research has not looked at separate effects of these exposures. There is extensive evidence that such exposures have negative health effects on youth and that these effects may be cumulative. This study presents cross sectional data from the Fall 2004 wave of data of a five year CDC funded intervention project, “An Arts-Based Initiative for the Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls” designed to promote healthy relationships and reduce dating violence. A cumulative violence index was devised for five types of violent exposures (peer relationship victimization/perpetration, nonspecific personal victimization, family violence and community violence). Health outcomes were measured using the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSCL). In this almost entirely African-American urban sample of 7th grade students (N = 321) cumulative violence was associated with a PSCL score in the referral range (>27). Preliminary analysis revealed 16.9% of the sample scored in this range. 85% of the youth, who scored 28 or above, reported three or more types of violent exposures as compared with 42% of the youth that scored below 28. Alarmingly, 60% of the youth, who had scores in the referral range, admitted to four or five types of violence exposure as compared with 16% of those who did not have a referral score. In order to intervene effectively more understanding is needed about the phenomenon of cumulative exposure to violence and how it affects the health of young adolescents.

Learning Objectives:

1)Describe the prevalence of cumulative types of violence exposure in an African American student sample.
• Compare the level of violence exposure to health outcomes.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Violence

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.