ADOLESCENTS EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE AND ASSOCIATED SYMPTOMS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA

Objective.-To examine the extent to which adolescents are exposed to v arious types of violence as either victims or witnesses, and the assoc iation of such exposure with trauma symptoms; specifically, the hypoth eses that exposure to violence will have a positive and significant as sociation with depression, anger, anxiety, dissociation, posttraumatic stress, and total trauma symptoms. Design and Setting.-The study empl oyed a survey design using an anonymous self-report questionnaire admi nistered to students (grades 9 through 12) in six public high schools during the 1992-1993 school year. Participants.-Sixty-eight percent of the students attending the participating schools during the survey pa rticipated in the study (N=3735). Ages ranged from 14 to 19 years; 52% were female; and 35% were African American, 33% white, and 23% Hispan ic. Results.-All hypotheses were supported. Multiple regression analys es of the total sample revealed that violence exposure variables (and to a lesser extent, demographic variables) explained a significant por tion of variance in all trauma symptom scores, including depression (R (2)=.31), anger (R(2)=.30), anxiety (R(2)=.30), dissociation (R(2)=.23 ), posttraumatic stress (R(2)=.31), and total trauma (R(2)=.37). Concl usions.-A significant and consistent association was demonstrated link ing violence exposure to trauma symptoms within a diverse sample of hi gh school students. Our findings give evidence of the need to identify and provide trauma-related services for adolescents who have been exp osed to violence.