The effects on children and adolescents of witnessing violence

Bibliographic Data

ID10517163
AuthorsDenise J Gelinas (Baystate Medical Center, corresponding author)
Year2001
Volume71
Issue2
Pages209-224
Publication date2001-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSmith College Studies in Social Work (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-7317 • E-ISSN: 1553-0426
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00377310109517624
OpenAlexW2069674415
LanguageEN
References cited28

We have all become more aware of the continuing violence in our schools. This paper examines what research tells us about the effects on children of witnessing a lethal sniper attack in their school, then examines the effects of witnessing violence where children are much more likely to see and hear it—in their communities and in their own homes. All available information agrees that witnessing interpersonal violence puts children at significant risk for a number of symptoms and problems, and especially for Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD was found in 67–80% of children who had witnessed various violent events. This paper discusses why children are so vulnerable to PTSD from such witnessing and then looks briefly at our society's deeper structural relationship with violence

Criminology · Developmental psychology · Interpersonal communication · Interpersonal violence · Medical emergency · Poison control · Suicide prevention · Child Abuse and Trauma · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology · Social Psychology

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