Campbell C, Schwarz D F
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104, USA.
Pediatrics. 1996 Sep;98(3 Pt 1):396-402.
The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of exposure to violence in preadolescent children in communities that vary by family income and to determine patterns of physical symptomatology and communication after exposure to a traumatic event.
Two hundred twenty-eight sixth-grade students from a suburban middle school (school A) and 209 sixth-grade students from an urban middle school (school B) in the Philadelphia metropolitan area were surveyed by a group-administered anonymous questionnaire.
Two hundred two students (89%) from school A and 200 students (96%) from school B reported knowing someone who had been robbed, beaten, stabbed, shot, or murdered. One hundred twenty-nine students (57%) and 183 students (88%), respectively, witnessed a robbing, beating, stabbing, shooting, or murder. Ninety-one students (40%) and 141 students (67%) had been personally robbed, beaten up, stabbed, shot, or caught in gun cross fire. One hundred thirty-four (59%) and 152 (73%) reported hearing gunfire in their neighborhood. One hundred eighty-eight (82%) and 202 (97%) had at least one positive response in all three categories: knowing a victim, witnessing an event, and being a victim of violence. The proportion of positive responses from school B was significantly greater than the proportion from school A for all of these results. Many students reported symptoms associated with somatization syndromes, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder; the school B group had significantly more symptoms than the school A group. Both student groups had discussed episodes of witnessing an event or victimization with others, mostly family members and friends, and expressed feelings of fear, anger, sadness, and frustration about these episodes. A very low percentage of the students (from 1% to 8% in the different analyses) consulted a medical or mental health professional.
These data support a substantial prevalence or exposure to violence for suburban and, even more dramatically, for urban middle school-aged children. The higher-prevalence group reported a higher incidence of symptoms sometimes seen after traumatic stress. Many students in both groups expressed multiple feelings about their exposure to violence, and most talked to someone about their exposure; rarely was this person a health professional.
本研究旨在确定不同家庭收入社区中青春期前儿童遭受暴力侵害的患病率，并确定遭受创伤事件后的身体症状表现和交流模式。
通过集体发放匿名问卷的方式，对费城都会区一所郊区中学（A校）的228名六年级学生和一所城市中学（B校）的209名六年级学生进行了调查。
A校有202名学生（89%）、B校有200名学生（96%）报告认识曾遭遇抢劫、殴打、刺伤、枪击或谋杀的人。分别有129名学生（57%）和183名学生（88%）目睹过抢劫、殴打、刺伤、枪击或谋杀事件。分别有91名学生（40%）和141名学生（67%）曾亲身遭遇抢劫、被殴打、被刺伤、被枪击或陷入枪战交火之中。分别有134名（59%）和152名（73%）报告在其社区听到过枪声。在认识受害者、目睹事件和成为暴力受害者这三个类别中，分别有188名（82%）和202名（97%）学生至少有一项肯定回答。对于所有这些结果，B校的肯定回答比例显著高于A校。许多学生报告了与躯体化综合征、抑郁和创伤后应激障碍相关的症状；B校学生的症状明显多于A校学生。两个学生群体都曾与他人讨论过目睹事件或遭受侵害的经历，大多是与家人和朋友，并表达了对这些事件的恐惧、愤怒、悲伤和沮丧之情。咨询过医疗或心理健康专业人员的学生比例非常低（在不同分析中为1%至8%）。
这些数据表明，郊区以及更显著的是城市中，中学年龄段儿童遭受暴力侵害的情况相当普遍。患病率较高的群体报告的创伤应激后有时出现的症状发生率更高。两个群体中的许多学生都表达了对遭受暴力侵害的多种感受，且大多数人都与他人谈论过自己的遭遇；但这个人很少是健康专业人员。
