Ashanty Barrios Child Psychology 235 9/12/13 An Analysis Of The Effects Of Community Violence On Child Behavior In Linaress study,

the overall goal was to examine the potential link between stress on a mother and the effects it could possibly have on her childs behavior. The study concentrated their focus on two kinds of child behavior: internal and external. By evaluating several kinds of community violence the mother was exposed to, Linares was able to prove a positive correlation between exposure to community violence and maternal distress. It was hypothesized in Linaress study that behavior in children, both internal and external, could be affected by the amount of stress their mother had, which in term was caused by the amount of community violence she was exposed to. In this study, 160 kids were observed, along with their mothers. The ages of the children ranged from 3 years old to 5 years 11 months old. The children and their mothers were selected from 5 different zip codes that have shown the highest crime rates. From there, the participants had to go through a screening process that consisted of two levels and this was mainly to determine their eligibility for the study. Since this was a self-report, the participants were not assigned to a particular group of study. The variables in this study were measured through self-reports from the mothers along with a video that kept track of their progress. The community violence that they tested was divided into several groups that are as follows: perceived crime, social disorder, fear of crime, cowitnessed crime, and global distress. All of these variables

made up this correlational study. The independent variable would be the following acts of crime, which are considered stressors on the mother. The dependent variable in this study would be the change in the childs internal behavior including social withdrawal, somatic complaints, and anxious/depressed scales (Linares, 2001), as well as their external behavior, which included acts of aggression towards others. All of these variables were measured on a numerical scale, each variable differing in range. In this study, the results were recorded in terms of averages and standard deviations that showed the relationship and variability among the variables. The results were then used to create two models showing a structural equation, one reduced model and one complete model. As it turned out, both internal and external behaviors were strongly correlated with the variables of perceived crime, fear of crime, partner aggression, PTSD symptoms, and maternal global distress (Linares, 2001). Internal behavior however, also showed a correlation with social disorder, and cowitnessing a crime, while external behavior showed a strong correlation with maternal SES. In the reduced model, they showed the effects of community violence on the children directly without taking into consideration maternal distress. In the complete model however, they included maternal distress into their results and concluded that their data was statistically significant and in fact supported their hypothesis. This was determined by noticing that their standard path coefficient = .27 was diminished to a standard path coefficient of .10 (Linares, 2001) and this was after the maternal distress was taken into account. Researchers were able to conclude that maternal stress did in fact impact and influence their childs internal and external behavior. One can agree with their studies since they are in fact statistically significant. The methodology used to test the levels of stress can

be argued as being subjective, since the data was reported from self-reports. With that said, it is nearly impossible to truly prove if the answers that were given are entirely fact and representative of the actual situation. In the study done by ODonnell, the main goal is also to examine community violence and the effect it has on children, only this study uses a different age range. Aside from the age differences, this study had a much larger sample to survey. Both the ODonnell study and the Linares study used self-reports to gather data from their participants but the ODonnell study used a larger sample size. This study was also more exclusionary since they only surveyed students within a specific school system and did not include maternal distress as a factor affecting behavior, as did the Linares study. While both studies do fair job in collecting data using averages and coefficients, he ODonnell study provided more examples of establishing validity in the data. Not only does this study address confounding variables, it also clarifies what was done in the study to make sure that these variables did not conflict with the overall goal of the study. The Linares study does address some of its own confounding variables but does not clarify what was done to each one to prevent interference during the time of study. Now the Linares study was very particular in the types of participants that would be included in the study. This can be good and bad for many reasons. The good part is that the researcher will have a clear idea of who they are working with and will know that their research is not being interfered with by outside, unknown confounding variables. On the other hand, they may have also chosen participants that were more likely to show favorable results and prove their hypothesis to be valid. In the ODonnell study, one sees that the sample is much larger and has more random participants. This is good because

the study is much more representative to reality. However, unlike the Linares study, the participants could have been affected by outside confounding variables unknown to the researchers. Both studies also used varying numerical values to express each variable and that make have caused a difference in the results. For example, something may have been given a lower numerical value in one study and higher numerical value in the other study. Lastly, the age differences may have caused significant differences in each study. Linares used children that were much younger; along with their mothers and the younger the child is, the more likely they will take on the behaviors that they encounter due to modeling behavior. The older children in ODonnells study are no longer easily prone to modeling every behavior they see and by now have established a sense of what reality is life. Violence is everywhere and just because they are exposed to it does not mean that they should in fact take on those characteristics. While both studies had several good and bad aspects to them, they both displayed statistically significant data and proved their hypothesiss to be valid.

References

Linares, Oriana, Heeren, Bronfman, Zuckerman, Augustyn, and Tronick. (2001). A Mediational Model for the Impact of Exposure to Community Violence on Early Child Behavior Problems. Volume 72, Number 2. Pages 639-652.

ODonnell, Deborah, Schwab-Stone, Muyeed. (2002). Multidimensional Resilience in Urban Cgildren Exposed To Community Violence. Volume 73, Number 4. Pages 1265-1282.