Community violence exposure and children's academic functioning.

This study reports a cross-sectional investigation of the link between community violence exposure and academic difficulties for 237 urban elementary school children (mean age of 9.5 years). Children completed a self-report inventory assessing exposure to community violence. Their achievement test scores and GPAs were obtained from school records, and other aspects of psychosocial adjustment were assessed with a multi-informant approach. Analyses indicated that community violence exposure was associated with poor academic performance. These relations appeared to be mediated by symptoms of depression and disruptive behavior and remained significant even after the prediction associated with bullying by peers was controlled. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of exposure to community violence and developmental problems among inner-city youth

While research has well documented that urban youth are exposed to increasing rates of community violence, little is known about what increases risk for violence exposure, what protects children from exposure to violence, and what factors reduce the most negative outcomes associated with witnessing violence. This study expands on current research by evaluating the relations between exposure to violence, family relationship characteristics and parenting practices, and aggression and depression symptoms. Data were drawn from a sample of 245 African-American and Latino boys and their caregivers from economically disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods in Chicago. Rates of exposure could not be predicted from family relationship and parenting characteristics, although there was a trend for discipline to be related. Exposure to community violence was related to increases in aggressive behavior and depression over a 1-year period even after controlling for previous status. Future studies should continue to evaluate the role of exposure to violence on the development of youth among different neighborhoods and communities. Implications for intervention and policy are discussed.     

Community Violence, Family Conflict, and Preschoolers' Socioemotional Functioning.

This study examined the relations among family conflict, community violence, and young children's socioemotional functioning and explored how children's social cognition and mothers' psychological functioning may mediate the outcomes associated with this exposure. Mothers of 431 Head Start preschoolers completed questionnaires about their family demography, exposure to community violence, family conflict, and children's distress symptoms. Children were administered a social cognition assessment, and teachers rated their behavior. Results showed that mothers' reports of children's co-witnessing of community violence were positively associated with police department crime rates, children's distress symptoms, and teachers' ratings of aggression. A path analysis revealed that children's social awareness and mothers' depressive symptoms partially mediated the effects of community violence and family conflict on outcomes for children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of intermittent ozone exposure on peak expiratory flow and respiratory symptoms among asthmatic children in Mexico City

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research was to study adolescents' perceptions of violence in their communities and schools and examine the relationship between these reports and their emotional and behavioral functioning, controlling for the effects of family violence and other sociodemographic variables. METHODS: Respondents included 935 urban and suburban high school students who completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR) as well as measures assessing their perceptions of community, school, and family violence. RESULTS: This sample of high school students was exposed to high levels of violence in their communities and schools. Over 45% of the students reported witnessing severe forms of violence such as a shooting or stabbing in their communities or schools during the year prior to the study. Hierarchic regression analyses revealed that for males, exposure to community and school violence was a significant predictor of aggressive acting-out behaviors, even when controlling for the effects of family violence and other sociodemographic variables. For girls, only exposure to school violence was a significant predictor of aggression. The results for internalizing scores (depression, withdrawal) were less impressive, particularly for males. CONCLUSIONS: The high levels of violence exposure of adolescents in their communities and schools and the associated increase in behavior problems suggest the need for developing school and community intervention programs to treat violence and its impact.     

Social risk and protective factors for African American children's academic achievement and adjustment during the transition to middle school.

The transition to middle school is often marked by decreased academic achievement and increased emotional stress, and African American children exposed to social risk may be especially vulnerable during this transition. To identify mediators and protective factors, the authors related severity and timing of risk exposure to academic achievement and adjustment between 4th and 6th grade in 74 African American children. Longitudinal analyses indicated that severity more than timing of risk exposure was negatively related to all outcomes and that language skills mediated the pathway from risk for most outcomes. Transition to middle school was related to lower math scores and to more externalizing problems when children experienced higher levels of social risk. Language skills and parenting served as protective factors, whereas expectations of racial discrimination was a vulnerability factor. Results imply that promoting parenting and, especially, language skills, and decreasing expectations of racial discrimination provide pathways to academic success for African American children during the transition from elementary to middle school, especially those exposed to adversity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Political violence and child adjustment in Northern Ireland: Testing pathways in a social–ecological model including single-and two-parent families.

Moving beyond simply documenting that political violence negatively impacts children, we tested a social–ecological hypothesis for relations between political violence and child outcomes. Participants were 700 mother–child (M = 12.1 years, SD = 1.8) dyads from 18 working-class, socially deprived areas in Belfast, Northern Ireland, including single- and two-parent families. Sectarian community violence was associated with elevated family conflict and children's reduced security about multiple aspects of their social environment (i.e., family, parent–child relations, and community), with links to child adjustment problems and reductions in prosocial behavior. By comparison, and consistent with expectations, links with negative family processes, child regulatory problems, and child outcomes were less consistent for nonsectarian community violence. Support was found for a social–ecological model for relations between political violence and child outcomes among both single- and two-parent families, with evidence that emotional security and adjustment problems were more negatively affected in single-parent families. The implications for understanding social ecologies of political violence and children's functioning are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent Differentiation of Self and Child Competence in Low-Income Urban Families.

In this study, the author examined whether family system functioning was associated with resilience in children exposed to negative environmental stress. In a sample of 55 low-income, urban families, greater differentiation of self among mothers predicted child competence--that is, better verbal and math achievement scores and lower aggression--after considering the effects of neighborhood violence and family life stress. No relations were observed between parent functioning and child academic self-concept. Furthermore, mothers' differentiation-of-self scores predicted children's cognitive skills, even after controlling for parent level of education. Implications, limitations, and directions for further research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trauma- and grief-focused intervention for adolescents exposed to community violence: Results of a school-based screening and group treatment protocol.

This study assessed the prevalence of trauma exposure among middle school students and evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based, trauma- and grief-focused group psychotherapy protocol in treating a subset of students with severe exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and functional impairment. Using a stratified screening procedure, 812 students completed a screening survey; 58 students (7.1% of those surveyed) met criteria for group treatment, and 26 students participated in the group. Group participation was associated with improvements in posttraumatic stress and complicated grief symptoms and in academic performance. Results suggest that students who are exposed to severe levels of community violence often may not be identified or treated. The findings also suggest that severe PTSD in adolescence may be associated with impaired school functioning, and that a reduction in PTSD symptoms may be related to academic remediation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Affective variables and school achievement: A study of possible causal influences.

Studied the predictive and causal relationship of affective variables and academic achievement (376 Ss in Grades 3–6), both concurrently and 1 yr later. Affective characteristics studied were general and academic self-concept, academic locus of control, and expectations for future academic achievement (Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale, Student's Perception of Ability Scale, Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire, and the Projected Academic Performance Scale) whereas levels of achievement were ascertained by end-of-year grades. The findings indicate that affective variables, especially academic self-concept, made a small but significant contribution to school grades. The data suggest a possible reciprocal interaction between affective characteristics and school achievement. Implications for children experiencing learning difficulties are discussed. (French abstract) (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's Achievement in Early Elementary School: Longitudinal Effects of Parental Involvement, Expectations, and Quality of Assistance.

In this prospective, longitudinal study, the authors examined the relations among parental behaviors, parental expectations, and children's academic achievement. Participants were 187 low-income children and their mothers, studied from birth of the child through 3rd grade. Mothers' quality of instruction prior to school entry had significant direct effects on IQ and indirect effects on achievement in 1st and 3rd grades. Parental expectations in 3rd grade had significant direct effects on parental involvement in 3rd grade. Children's achievement in 1st grade had significant direct effects on parental involvement and expectations in 3rd grade. Parental involvement in 3rd grade had a significant direct effect on achievement in 3rd grade. Results suggest that early parenting factors are important for children's academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child emotional insecurity and academic achievement: The role of sleep disruptions.

The authors examined children's sleep as an intervening variable in the connection between emotional insecurity in the family and academic achievement. The role of ethnicity (African American and European American) and socioeconomic status (SES) in moderating the examined relations was assessed. One hundred sixty-six children (8- and 9-year-olds) reported their emotional insecurity, and the quantity and quality of children's sleep were examined through actigraphy and self-report. Decreased amount and quality of sleep were intervening variables in the relations between insecurity in the marital relationship and children's achievement. The effects of disrupted sleep on achievement were more pronounced for both African American children and children of lower SES. Results highlight the importance of the contemporaneous examinations of family and sleep functioning in the prediction of child outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of an empirical typology of African American family functioning.

This study empirically identified types of African American families. Adolescents (N=111) were assessed on family functioning. With cluster analytic methods, 3 types of families were identified. The cohesive-authoritative type was above average on parental education and income, averaged about 2 children, exhibited a high quality of family functioning and high self-esteem in adolescents. The conflictive-authoritarian type had average parental education and income, an average of 2.7 children, exhibited controlling and rigid discipline, and placed a high emphasis on achievement. The defensive-neglectful type was predominately headed by single mothers with below average education and income and averaged about 3 children. Such families displayed chaotic family processes, and adolescents tended to suffer from low self-esteem. The typology exhibited good reliability. The implications of the typology are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Marital satisfaction of parents of preadolescent boys and its relationship to family and child functioning.

Investigated the relationship between parents' marital satisfaction (MS) and family and child outcomes among 50 mothers and 43 fathers with 6th-grade sons. Outcomes in 3 domains of functioning were studied: within-family functioning, 2 aspects of sons' social-emotional (SEM) adjustment (distress and restraint), and sons' academic achievement. Two mediators by which MS might influence the outcomes were also assessed: individual parental characteristics (i.e., SEM functioning) and child-rearing practices. Quality of the marital relationship was signficantly related to outcomes in each domain of functioning. Mothers' MS was related to overall family functioning; fathers' MS was related to sons' school achievement and development of self-control. The relationship between fathers' MS and sons' self-restraint was accounted for by fathers' SEM functioning and child rearing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Causal influence of teachers' expectations on children's academic performance: A cross-lagged panel analysis.

Investigated the causal interplay of teachers' expectations and children's academic performance. In a 4-yr longitudinal study of 4,300 British beginning elementary school children, a series of cross-lagged panel correlational analyses indicated that the preponderant cause in the achievement–expectancy relationship was that of teachers' expectations causing children's achievements to an extent appreciably exceeding that to which children's performance impinged on teachers' attitudes. Teachers' evaluations of children's social performance affected later achievement to an extent exceeding that attributable to academic expectations. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive-motivational characteristics and academic achievement of learning disabled children: A longitudinal study.

Academic self-concept, academic locus of control, and achievement expectations were investigated over a 2-year period for 78 children identified as learning disabled (LD) and 71 non learning disabled, normally achieving children (NLD). The LD children had no remedial program for their learning problems and had not been classified by the schools as LD. The data were collected while the sample was in junior high school. Five schools participated in the project. The results indicated that in comparison with NLD students, the LD children had lower self-perceptions of ability, showed signs of learned helplessness, and reported lower achievement expectations. These differences were well established at the start of Year 1 of the project and remained consistent through to the end of Year 2. The hypothesis that LD children not receiving remedial help would develop increasingly negative affective characteristics was therefore not supported. Correlation and regression data show that academic self-concept scores were the single best predictor of achievement levels. I suggest that negative school-related attitudes develop early in the school lives of LD children and remain negative but consistent through high school. Some consequences for future learning and remedial programming are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The longitudinal relations of teacher expectations to achievement in the early school years.

There is relatively little research on the role of teacher expectations in the early school years or the importance of teacher expectations as a predictor of future academic achievement. The current study investigated these issues in the reading and mathematic domains for young children. Data from nearly 1,000 children and families at 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades were included. Child sex and social skills emerged as consistent predictors of teacher expectations of reading and, to a lesser extent, math ability. In predicting actual future academic achievement, results showed that teacher expectations were differentially related to achievement in reading and math. There was no evidence that teacher expectations accumulate but some evidence that they remain durable over time for math achievement. In addition, teacher expectations were more strongly related to later achievement for groups of children who might be considered to be at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressed mood in Chinese children: Relations with school performance and family environment.

A sample of primary school children in Shanghai, People's Republic of China, participated in this 2-year longitudinal project. Information on the family environment, children's social functioning, academic achievement, and depression was collected from multiple sources. The mean depression scores in the Chinese children was found to be similar to those found for children in the West. Depression was positively associated with aggressive-disruptive behavior and negatively associated with social competence. School social and academic difficulties were concurrently and positively correlated with depression. Moreover, social adjustment problems at age 8 were associated with depression at age 10. Academic difficulties were predictive of later depression only for children from families in which the mother was rejecting and parents had a conflictual relationship. Finally, decline in social and academic performance was related to depressed affect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Posttraumatic stress in children and adolescents exposed to family violence: I. Overview and issues.

Exposure to child physical abuse and parents' domestic violence can subject youth to pervasive traumatic stress and can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This article presents evolving conceptualizations in the burgeoning field of trauma related to family violence exposure and describes how the often repeating and ongoing nature of family violence exposure can complicate a PTSD diagnosis. In addition, recent literature indicates that children exposed to family violence may experience problems in multiple domains of functioning and may meet criteria for multiple disorders in addition to PTSD. Considerations salient to the recognition of traumatic stress in this population and that inform assessment and treatment planning are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Congruence of mother and teacher educational expectations and low-income youth's academic competence.

In this study, the authors examined the independent effects of teacher and mother expectations on youth achievement outcomes, the mediating factors that explain the relationship between adult expectations and student achievement, and the effects of congruent vs. dissonant adult expectations on achievement. Participants were an ethnically diverse sample of 522 low-income, urban youth (ages 9-16). Youth's mothers and teachers also participated. Findings show that adult expectations exert a significant influence on youth's academic competency and performance. Moreover, adult expectations matter both independently and conjointly: Comparably high mother and teacher expectations have a generative effect on youth outcomes, and comparably low mother and teacher expectations have a disruptive effect. Of particular interest are findings demonstrating the buffering effects of high mother expectations in the face of low teacher expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development.

Recent research consistently reports that persistent poverty has more detrimental effects on IQ, school achievement, and socioemotional functioning than transitory poverty, with children experiencing both types of poverty generally doing less well than never-poor children. Higher rates of perinatal complications, reduced access to resources that buffer the negative effects of perinatal complications, increased exposure to lead, and less home-based cognitive stimulation partly account for diminished cognitive functioning in poor children. These factors, along with lower teacher expectancies and poorer academic-readiness skills, also appear to contribute to lower levels of school achievement among poor children. The link between socioeconomic disadvantage and children's socioemotional functioning appears to be mediated partly by harsh, inconsistent parenting and elevated exposure to acute and chronic stressors. The implications of research findings for practice and policy are considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)