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.