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The Impact of Community Violence Exposure on Anxiety in Children of Mothers with Depression

  • Impact of Trauma on Children
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Abstract

The dual risk of exposure to community violence and maternal depression has potentially negative effects on children. This study examined whether social skills served as a protective factor for the impact of community violence exposure on anxiety within children of African American mothers with depression. Multiple regressions showed that community violence exposure was associated with less anxious coping but more physical symptoms. Findings support that younger children who view themselves as being socially skilled also exhibit higher levels of anxious coping. Implications addressing the importance of age, physical symptoms of anxiety, and anxious vigilance for interventions are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3535 Market Street, Suite 1230, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Rhonda C. Boyd & Thananya D. Wooden

  2. Department of Psychology, La Salle University, USA

    Melissa A. Munro

  3. Department of Psychology, Kean University, USA

    Ting Liu

  4. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA

    Rhonda C. Boyd & Thomas Ten Have

Authors
  1. Rhonda C. Boyd
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  2. Thananya D. Wooden
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  3. Melissa A. Munro
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  4. Ting Liu
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  5. Thomas Ten Have
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Correspondence to Rhonda C. Boyd.

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Boyd, R.C., Wooden, T.D., Munro, M.A. et al. The Impact of Community Violence Exposure on Anxiety in Children of Mothers with Depression. Journ Child Adol Trauma 1, 287–300 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1080/19361520802505669

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19361520802505669

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