Co-victimization of African-American children who witness violence: effects on cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development

Abstract

This article reports the prevalence of violence and co-victimization among African-American youth in Chicago. Results of a violence screening survey were compiled on 1035 school children, aged 10 to 19 years. Police crime statistics are compared to illustrate the magnitude of the problem of youth and violence. Results indicate that 75% of the participating boys and 10% of participating girls had witnessed the shooting, stabbing, robbing, or killing of another person in their own lives. The survey itself did not identify the effects of co-victimization on the participants. Previous research is incorporated in the development of tentative hypotheses for intervention in public schools.