Integrated literature review on effects of exposure to violence upon adolescents

Abstract

Violence has reached epidemic proportions in the Unites States. The past decade has seen professionals in public health, law enforcement, social sciences, and health care commit more attention to this area. Research and anecdotal articles read by the researcher indicated adolescents exposed to chronic community violence may experience a myriad of problems including; academic failure, the tendency to engage in violent behavior, depression, and a nihilistic, fatalistic orientation to the future, which often leads to increased risk-taking behaviors. The purpose of this integrative literature review is to discover what is known about exposure to violence among adolescents. While the review did find various negative effects of being exposed to violence, a cross-sectional design was often used, with self-reported data. Instruments with established validity and reliability were used to gather the data were often appropriate to the population. Aspects of the methodologies used by the researchers should be replicated in order to add to the knowledge of this topic.