Youth Exposure to Community Violence and Psychological Adjustment: The Role of Cognitive Appraisals

Abstract

Exposure to community violence (CV) is a significant risk factor that many urban youth experience. CV is significantly predictive of a host of psychological difficulties; however, not all youth experience psychological problems and actually exhibit positive adjustment. Extant research indicates that youth's appraisals of stress are a key mechanism in the stress process and are significantly predictive of psychological adjustment. The current study assessed preadolescent youths' experiences and appraisals of CV and their relation to both youth's and caregiver's reports of youth emotional and behavioral functioning. The results of this study indicated that victimization by violence significantly predicted youth's report of maladjustment and adaptive behaviors. Additionally, results suggested that youth can appraise violence in several ways. Finally, challenge appraisals indirectly affected the relation between witnessing violence and caregiver's report of adaptive behaviors. The implications of the findings and areas of future research are discussed.