Chronic community violence exposure (CVE) has become an everyday issue for many children living in inner-city neighborhoods. However, few... Show moreChronic community violence exposure (CVE) has become an everyday issue for many children living in inner-city neighborhoods. However, few studies have examined the effects of CVE on symptoms of psychopathology in young children. The primary aim of this study was to examine the relation between CVE and internalizing and externalizing symptoms in preschool children. Another goal was to determine if the relations between CVE and both types of symptoms were affected by the type of exposure, the location of the event, and the relationship between the child and the individual involved in the event. A signal-contingent ecological momentary assessment (EMA) design was used in which 32 caregivers reported on their age 3-5 year-old children’s exposure to community violence, and their internalizing and externalizing symptoms for one week. A total of 152 events of community violence were reported during this period, revealing that the children were exposed to an alarmingly high frequency of these events. Results of multilevel model (MLM) analyses showed that increased frequency of momentary CVE was associated with more severe caregiver-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms throughout one-week. Additionally, witnessed CVE, situations occurring near home, and situations involving someone known by the child strengthened the association between CVE and symptom severity. The present findings reveal that some of the long-term negative effects associated with trauma exposure occur in a shorter time-span when children are exposed to community violence on a daily basis. They also provide guidelines that can be used to inform future assessment of CVE and strategies that may be effective for intervention. Show less
