The effects of family and community violence on children

This review examines theoretical and empirical literature on children's rea ctions to three types of violence-child maltreatment, community violence, a nd interparental violence. In addition to describing internalizing and exte rnalizing problems associated with exposure to violence, this review identi fies ways that violence can disrupt typical developmental trajectories thro ugh psychobiological effects, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), cogniti ve consequences, and peer problems. Methodological challenges in this liter ature include high rates of co-occurrence among types of violence exposure, co-occurrence of violence with other serious life adversities, heterogenei ty in the frequency, severity, age of onset, and chronicity of exposure, an d difficulties in making causal inferences. A developmental psychopathology perspective focuses attention on how violence may have different effects a t different ages and may compromise children's abilities to face normal dev elopmental challenges. Emphasis is placed on the variability of children's reactions to violence, on outcomes that go beyond diagnosable disorders, an d on variables that mediate and moderate children's reactions to violence.