The effects on children and adolescents of witnessing violence

Abstract

We have all become more aware of the continuing violence in our schools. This paper examines what research tells us about the effects on children of witnessing a lethal sniper attack in their school, then examines the effects of witnessing violence where children are much more likely to see and hear it—in their communities and in their own homes. All available information agrees that witnessing interpersonal violence puts children at significant risk for a number of symptoms and problems, and especially for Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD was found in 67–80% of children who had witnessed various violent events. This paper discusses why children are so vulnerable to PTSD from such witnessing and then looks briefly at our society's deeper structural relationship with violence.