Читать книгу Infants and Children in Context - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 58

The neighborhoods and communities where children reside are important contextual factors that influence their development. It is estimated that over one-third of all children and adolescents witness violence within their communities (Kennedy & Ceballo, 2014), and the number is much higher in some inner-city neighborhoods. Community violence is particularly damaging to development because it is experienced across multiple contexts—school, playground, and home. The chronic and random nature of community violence presents a constant threat to children and parents’ sense of safety. In such environments, children learn that the world is a dangerous and unpredictable place and that parents are unable to offer protection.

Children exposed to chronic community violence display anxiety and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly seen in individuals exposed to the extreme trauma of war and natural disasters, including exaggerated startle responses, difficulty eating and sleeping, and academic and cognitive problems (Fowler, Tompsett, Braciszewski, Jacques-Tiura, & Baltes, 2009; Kennedy & Ceballo, 2014). The periodic and unpredictable experience of intense emotions may interfere with children’s ability to identify and regulate their emotions and can disrupt the development of empathy and prosocial responses. Children who are exposed to community violence tend to be less socially aware, to be less skilled, and to display more aggressive and disruptive behavior than other children (McMahon et al., 2013).

Community violence also affects parents. Parents who are exposed to community violence may feel alienated from the community and unsafe (Guo, O’Connor Duffany, Shebl, Santilli, & Keene, 2018). The parental distress, frustration, and sense of helplessness that accompany community violence can compromise parenting (Vincent, 2009). When dealing with their own grief, fear, and anxiety, parents may be less available for physical and emotional caregiving, which in turn predicts poor child adjustment (Farver, Xu, Eppe, Fernandez, & Schwartz, 2005). They also experience a heightened risk for depression (Jacoby, Tach, Guerra, Wiebe, & Richmond, 2017), posing risks to parenting (Dempsey, McQuillin, Butler, & Axelrad, 2016).

Community violence is unquestionably detrimental to developmental outcomes. However, some children display more resilience to its negative effects than others. Three factors appear to protect children from the most negative effects of exposure to community violence: (1) having a supportive person in the environment; (2) having a protected place in the neighborhood that provides a safe haven from violence exposure; and (3) having personal resources such as adaptable temperament, intelligence, or coping capacities (Jain & Cohen, 2013). Unfortunately, the fear that accompanies community violence influences all members of the community, reducing supports and safe havens. Effective interventions to combat the effects of community violence include after-school community centers that allow children to interact with each other and caring adults in a safe context that permits them to develop skills in coping, conflict resolution, and emotional regulation.