Preschool children's exposure to violence: Relation of behavior problems to parent and child reports

A group of 155 parents and their preschool children attending Head Start re ported on the children's exposure to community violence, level of distress symptoms, and behavioral problems. The behavioral correlates of exposure we re found to differ according to exposure modality: internalizing problems w ere more likely in children who witnessed violence, and externalizing probl ems in those victimized by violence. Issues regarding self-reports by presc hool children are highlighted and clinical and research implications discus sed.