Experiences of Violence, Post-Traumatic Stress, Academic Achievement and Behavior Problems of Urban African-American Children

This study examined the frequency of family violence, community violence, and witnessing of violence for 110 African-American children. Levels of post-traumatic stress, academic achievement and behavior problems of the children were also examined. The students were sixth graders between the ages of 11 and 13 from four inner-city Chicago public schools. The level of exposure to family violence was significantly related to levels of behavior problems and negatively related to school achievement. The level of exposure to community violence was associated with levels of behavior problems and approached significance in a negative direction with school achievement. Academic achievement was not significantly related to behavior, but was significantly associated with post-traumatic stress disorder, family violence, witnessing violence and approached significance with community violence exposure.