Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Violence exposure and cortisol responses in urban youth

  • Published:
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

I examined the physiological costs associated with exposure to violence in 101 African American youth (55% male; M age = 11.14 years) living in high-violence areas of a midsized southern city in the United States. Salivary cortisol was measured before and after a laboratory task (viewing and discussing a video depicting community violence) and on waking 1 morning in the week following the laboratory assessment. Overall, cortisol levels were low. Analyses controlling for age, gender, negative affect, and major life events revealed that peer victimization was associated with lower basal cortisol values obtained from home assessments. Witnessed violence predicted a cortisol awakening response (CAR) but only in girls; girls with a typical CAR had lower levels of witnessing violence than girls with an atypical pattern. Witnessed violence also was associated with lower baseline cortisol levels measured in the laboratory and with increases in cortisol from baseline to posttask for boys but not girls. Peer victimization was associated with increases in cortisol from pretask to posttask for both genders. I discuss implications for research and prevention.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/ 4-18 and 1991 Profile. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aiken L., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, R. D., & Weisberg, S. (1982). Residuals and influence in regression. London: Chapman & Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooley-Quille, M., Boyd, R., Frantz, E., & Walsh, J. (2001). Emotional and behavioral impact of exposure to community violence in inner-city adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 199–206.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cooley-Quille, M., & Lorion, R. (1999). Adolescents’ exposure to community violence: Sleep and psychophysiological functioning. Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 367–375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crosnoe, R., Erickson, K. G., & Dornbusch, S. M. (2002). Protective functions of family relationships and school factors on the deviant behavior of adolescent boys and girls: Reducing the impact of risky friendships. Youth & Society, 33, 515–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickerson, S. S., & Kemeny, M. E. (2004). Acute stressors and cortisol responses: A theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 355–391.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dienstbier, R. (1989). Arousal and physiological toughness: Implications for mental and physical health. Psychological Review, 96, 84–100.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, G. W., Lercher, P., Meis, M., Ising, H., & Kofler, W. W. (2001). Community noise exposure and stress in children. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 109, 1023–1027.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ewart, H. (1993). The Adolescent Resource Challenges scales (ARCS): Reliability and validity. Unpublished manuscript, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

  • Farrell, A. D., & Bruce, S. E. (1997). Impact of exposure to community violence on violent behavior and emotional distress among urban adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26, 2–14.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gorman-Smith, D., & Tolan, P. (1998). The prevalence and consequences of exposure to violence among African-American youth. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 101–116.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gorman-Smith, D., Tolan, P., Henry, D. B., & Florsheim, P. (2000). Patterns of family functioning and adolescent outcomes among urban African American and Mexican American families. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 436–457.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gump, B. B., & Matthews, K. A. (1999). Do background stressors influence reactivity to and recovery from acute stress? Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 29, 469–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunnar, M. R., & Vazquez, D. M. (2001). Low cortisol and a flattening of expected daytime rhythm: Potential indices of risk in human development. Development and Psychopathology, 13, 515–538.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hardie, T. L., Moss, H. B., Vanyukov, M. M., Yao, J. K., & Kirillovac, G. P. (2002). Does adverse family environment or sex matter in the salivary cortisol responses to anticipatory stress? Psychiatry Research, 112, 121–131.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heim, C., Ehlert, U., & Hellhammer, D. H. (2000). The potential role of hypocortisolism in the pathophysiology of stress-related bodily disorders. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 25, 1–35.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Heim, C., Newport, D. J., Bonsall, R., Miller, A. H., & Nemeroff, C. B. (2001). Altered pituitary-adrenal axis responses to provocative challenge tests in adult survivors of childhood abuse. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 575–581.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, J. P. (1993). Psychological and physiological responses to stress: The right hemisphere and the hypo-thalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis. An inquiry into problems of human bonding. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science, 28, 368–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilpatrick, D. G., Acierno, R., Saunders, B., Resnick, H. S., Best, C. L., & Schnurr, P. P. (2000). Risk Factors for adolescent substance abuse and dependence: Data from a national sample. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 19–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kivilighan, K. T., Granger, D. A., & Booth, A. (2005). Gender differences in testosterone and cortisol response in competition. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 30, 58–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kliewer, W. (2004). Community violence exposure, threat appraisal, and adjustment in youth. Manuscript submitted for publication.

  • Kliewer, W., Lepore, S. J., Oskin, D., & Johnson, P. D. (1998). The role of social and cognitive processes in children’s adjustment to community violence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 199–209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Klimes-Dougan, B., Hastings, P., Granger, D., Usher, B., & Zahn-Waxler, C. (2001). Adrenocortical activity in at-risk and normally developing adolescents: Individual differences in salivary cortisol basal levels, diurnal variation, and responses to social challenges. Development & Psychopathology, 13, 695–719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kovacs, M. (1985). The Children’s Depressive Inventory (CDI). Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21, 995–998.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Krenichy, K., Saegert, S., & Evans, G. W. (2001). Parents as moderators of psychological and physiological correlates of inner-city children’s exposure to violence. Applied Developmental Psychology, 22, 581–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, S. W., Piersel, W. C., Friedlander, R., & Collamer, W. (1988). Concurrent validity of the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) for adolescents. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 48, 429–433.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, P., & Richters, J. E. (1993). The NIMH Community Violence Project: II. Children’s distress symptoms associated with violence exposure. Psychiatry: Interpersonal & Biological Processes, 56, 22–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, J. W., Wang, S., Yehuda, R., Riney, S., Charney, D. S., & Southwick, S. M. (2001). Pscyhogenic lowering of urinary cortisol levels linked to increased emotional numbing and a shame-depressive syndrome in combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychosomatic Medicine, 63, 387–401.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, K. A., Gump, B. B., & Owens, J. F. (2001). Chronic stress influences cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses during acute stress and recovery, especially in men. Health Psychology, 20, 403–410.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McEwan, B. (1998). Protective and damaging effects of stress mediators. New England Journal of Medicine, 338, 171–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, P. A., Kliewer, W., & Partch, J. J. (1999, April). Innovative strategies for investigating the socialization of children’s coping. Paper presented in the symposium “Beyond simple models of coping: Advances intheory and research” at the biennial conference of the Society for Research in Child Development, San Antonio, TX.

  • Nicholaides, S., & Singleton, J. (1991). Boyz n the Hood. United States: Sony Pictures.

    Google Scholar 

  • Overstreet, S., & Braun, S. (1999). A preliminary examination of the relationship between exposure to community violence and academic functioning. School Psychology Quarterly, 14, 380–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Overstreet, S., & Braun, S. (2000). Exposure to community violence and post-traumatic stress symptoms: Mediating factors. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 70, 263–271.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pajer, K., Gardner, W., Kirilova, G. P., & Vanyukov, M. M. (2001). Sex differences in cortisol level and neurobehavioral disinhibition in children of substance abusers. Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 10, 65–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perrin, S., & Last, C. (1992). Do childhood anxiety measures anxiety? Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20, 567–578.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quas, J. A., Murowchick, E., Bensadoun, J., & Boyce, W. T. (2002). Predictors of children’s cortisol activation during the transition to kindergarten. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 23, 304–313.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. R. (1980). Concurrent validity of What I Think and Feel: The revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 48, 774–775.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds, C. R., & Richmond, B. O. (1978). “What I Think and Feel”: The revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 6, 271–280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richters, J. E., & Saltzman, W. (1990). Survey of children’s exposure to community violence: Parent report and self-report version. Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Mental Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roy, M. P. (2004). Patterns of cortisol reactivity to laboratory stress. Hormones and Behavior, 46, 618–627.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roy, M. P., Kirschbaum, C., & Steptoe, A. (2003). Intraindividual variation in recent stress exposure as amoderator of cortisol and testosterone levels. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 26, 194–200.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Saylor, C., Finch, A., Spirito, A., & Bennett, B. (1984). The Children’s Depression Inventory. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 955–967.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scarpa, A., Fikretoglu, D., & Luscher, K. (2000). Community violence exposure in a young adult sample: II. Psychophysiology and aggressive behavior. Journal of Community Psychology, 28, 417–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schreier, A., & Evans, G. W. (2003). Adrenal cortical response of young children to modern and ancient stressors. Current Anthropology, 44, 306–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwab-Stone, M. E., Ayers, T. S., Kasprow, W., & Voyce, C. (1995). No safe haven: A study of violence exposure in an urban community. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34, 1343–1352.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, D., & Proctor, L. J. (2000). Community violence exposure and children’s adjustment in the school peer group: The mediating roles of emotion regulation and social cognition. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 68, 670–683.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Singer, M. I., Anglin, T. M., Song, L. Y., & Lunghofer, L. (1995). Adolescents’ exposure to violence and associated symptoms of psychological trauma. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, 273, 477–482.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stansbury, K., & Gunnar, M. R. (1994). Adrenocortical activity and emotion regulation. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59 (2–3).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stroud, L. R., Salovey, P., & Epel, E. S. (2002). Sex differences in stress responses: Social rejection versus achievement stress. Biological Psychiatry, 52, 318–327.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, T. N., Kung, E., & Farrell, A. D. (2004). Relation between witnessing violence and drug use initiation among rural adolescents: Parental monitoring and family support as protective factors. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33, 488–498.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tennes, K., Kreye, M., Avitable, N., & Wells, R. (1986). Behavioral correlates of excreted catecholamines and cortisol in second-grade children. Psychosomatic Medicine, 47, 451–460.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tout, K., De Haan, M., Campbell, E. K., & Gunnar, M. R. (1998). Social behavioral correlates of cortisol activity in child care: Gender differences and time-of-day effects. Child Development, 69, 1247–1262.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Surgeon General’s Office. (2001). Youth violence: A report of the Surgeon General. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, D. K., Kliewer, W., Teasley, N., Plybon, L. E., & Sica, D. A. (2002). Violence exposure, catecholamine excretion, and blood pressure non-dipping status in African American male versus female adolescents. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64, 906–915.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yehuda, R., Resnick, H., Kahana, B., & Giller, E. L. (1993). Long-lasting hormonal alterations to extreme stress in humans: normative or maladaptive? Psychosomatic Medicine, 55, 287–297.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, P.O. Box 842018, Richmond, VA

    Wendy Kliewer

Authors
  1. Wendy Kliewer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wendy Kliewer.

Additional information

This project was supported by a Grant-in-Aid and a Humanities and Sciences grant from Virginia Commonwealth University to Wendy Kliewer and by General Clinical Research Center Grant M01RR00065 at Virginia Commonwealth University. Data were collected, entered, and coded without the benefit of paid staff, and I thank the many undergraduate and graduate students who recruited and interviewed participants and entered, cleaned, and coded data. Special thanks to Wendy McClary, Sarah Hour, and Lauren Foutz for their assistance with the literature review. Finally, I thank the families who shared their lives with us during this project. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kliewer, W. Violence exposure and cortisol responses in urban youth. Int. J. Behav. Med. 13, 109–120 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm1302_2

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327558ijbm1302_2

Key words

Search

Navigation