Kids and Violence – Nearly Four Out of Ten Exposed in the Past Year

A new survey shows that nearly four out of ten children and teens in the United States have been exposed to violence within the last year.

The study relied on data gathered through phone interviews. Conducted by researchers using The National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), it included representative samples of US telephone numbers from August 28, 2013 to April 30, 2014. Information was obtained from 4,000 children, ages 0 to 17. Children above the age of ten provided their own answers; children 9 and under were surveyed based on answers provided by caregivers.

The survey aimed to collect data concerning the youths' exposure to violence, crime, and abuse.

"Children are the most victimized segment of the population," said study leader David Finkelhor of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham in an email to Reuters Health.

"The full burden of this tends to be missed because many national crime indicators either do not include the experience of all children or don't look at the big picture and include all the kinds of violence to which children are exposed."

Children and caregivers were asked about a broad range of violence, including maltreatment, peer and sibling abuse, sexual assault, and indirect exposure to violence - which included witnessing violence or observing it on the Internet. Positive responses were then narrowed down to who committed the violence and the weapons and injuries involved.

The numbers were startling.

In total, 37.3% of youth experienced a physical assault in the study year, and 9.3% of youth experienced an assault-related injury, according to the report released today in JAMA Pediatrics. Two percent of girls experienced sexual assault or sexual abuse in the study year, while the rate was 4.6% for girls 14 to 17 years old.

Overall, 15.2% of children and youth experienced maltreatment by a caregiver, including 5.0% who experienced physical abuse. In total, 5.8% witnessed an assault between parents.

Despite the challenges posed by such surveys, there were a few bright spots in the data, including declines in past-year exposure to dating violence and lifetime exposure to household theft, compared to a survey conducted in 2011.

"Violence and abuse in childhood are big drivers behind many of our most serious health and social problems," Finkelhor said. "They are associated with later drug abuse, suicide, criminal behavior, mental illness and chronic disease like diabetes."

Research has shown that parent education and support programs are effective in preventing family abuse and active school campaigns against bullying and dating violence promote safety among teens.

According to Finkelhor, "The challenge is to get children and families access to these programs and make such education is more comprehensive and integrated into the curriculum."