Exploring the Relationship between Exposure to Violence, Perceptions of Neighborhood Safety, and Children's Adaptive Functioning: Clinical and Community Implications

• Published in: Journal of human behavior in the social environment Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 744 - 761
• Main Authors: Maschi, Tina, Perez, Rose M., Tyson, Edgar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Binghamton, NY Taylor & Francis Group 01.09.2010; Haworth Press; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adaptation; adaptive functioning; Child Abuse; child behavior checklist; Child maltreatment; Child Neglect; Child. Socialization; Children; Children & youth; community violence; Correlation analysis; neighborhood safety; Neighborhoods; Perceptions; Personality. Social role; Risk; Risk and disasters sociology; Risks and disasters. Terrorism; Safety; Social psychology; Social Workers; Sociology; Sociology of knowledge and sociology of culture; Sociology of leisure and mass culture; Sociology of the family. Age groups; Violence; neighborhood safety; Adjustment; Behaviour; Abuse; Violence; child behavior checklist; adaptive functioning; Security; Neighborhood; Resilience; community violence; Child; Child maltreatment; Hazard
• ISSN: 1091-1359; 1540-3556
• DOI: 10.1080/10911351003749144

This study explored the relationship of exposure to violence and children's perceptions of neighborhood safety and children's adaptive functioning. It used a cross-sectional quadi-experimental design of 300 inner-city children and a bttery of standardized measures, which included the Child Maltreatment Classification Scheme, Exposure to Community Violence Scale, the Domains of Safety Subscale for Neighborhood, and the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher's Report form. Hierarchal regression analysis revealed that child maltreatment history and perceptions of neighborhood safety were significantly related to children's overall adaptive functioning. Social workers can help by engaging in efforts to increase neighborhood safety and reinforcing positive adaptive psychosocial functioning of children at risk or exposed to violence.