Childhood Exposure to Firearm Violence in Chicago and Its Impact on Mental Health.

Autor: Lennon T; Division of Emergency Medicine (T Lennon, S Kemal, K Sheehan, and ML Macy), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Ill. Electronic address: tlennon@luriechildrens.org., Kemal S; Division of Emergency Medicine (T Lennon, S Kemal, K Sheehan, and ML Macy), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Ill., Heffernan ME; Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center (ME Heffernan and ML Macy), Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Ill., Bendelow A; Data Analytics and Reporting (A Bendelow), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Ill., Sheehan K; Division of Emergency Medicine (T Lennon, S Kemal, K Sheehan, and ML Macy), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Ill., Davis MM; Division of Advanced General Pediatrics and Primary Care (MM Davis), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University, Ill., Macy ML; Division of Emergency Medicine (T Lennon, S Kemal, K Sheehan, and ML Macy), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Ill; Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center (ME Heffernan and ML Macy), Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Ill.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Academic pediatrics [Acad Pediatr] 2024 Aug; Vol. 24 (6), pp. 982-986. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Dec 13.
DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2023.12.001
Abstrakt: Objective: To describe how often Chicago children are exposed to firearm violence, the types of exposure, and the parent-reported impact of these exposures on child mental health symptoms.
Methods: Data were collected in May-July 2022 using the Voices of Child Health in Chicago Parent Panel Survey, administered to parents with children aged 2-17 years from all 77 Chicago neighborhoods. Firearm violence exposure was characterized as indirect (hearing gunshots or knowing someone who was shot) or direct (witnessing a shooting, being threatened with a firearm, being shot at but not injured, or being shot and injured). Parents indicated if children in their household had any of the following mental health symptoms associated with firearm violence exposure: fear, anxiety, sadness, isolation, difficulty concentrating, difficulty in school, or aggression. Chi-squared tests and multivariable logistic regression models were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Responses were received from 989 Chicago parents. More than one third (37%) of children were exposed to firearm violence with an indirect exposure prevalence of 32% and a direct exposure prevalence of 10%. Mental health symptoms associated with firearm violence exposure were reported for 20% of children. Mental health symptoms were reported for 7% of children without firearm violence exposure compared to 31% with indirect exposure (aOR 6.2, 95% CI: 3.7, 10.6) and 68% with direct exposure (aOR 36.1, 95% CI: 16.6, 78.6) CONCLUSIONS: Chicago children with indirect and direct exposure to firearm violence had more parent-reported mental health symptoms than unexposed children. Trauma informed care approaches to mitigate the negative mental health effects of both direct and indirect firearm violence exposure are critical.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have no relevant conflicts of interest or financial interests in this manuscript.
(Copyright © 2024 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz: