Prevent Disease.com - Exposure to Violence May Harm Teens' Mental Health



		Exposure to Violence May Harm Teens' Mental Health Excerpt By Suzanne Rostler, Reuters Health NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adolescents who are exposed to violence may develop symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), putting them at risk for serious mental health problems, study findings suggest. In the study, investigators looked at how often a group of urban South African adolescents had been exposed to violence, including witnessing or being a victim of violence in the home and at the hands of someone known, and violence inflicted by a stranger. According to the researchers, violence is all too common in South Africa. The rate of homicide in that country is about 10 times higher than the US homicide rate. Most of the 104 high school students interviewed had been exposed to at least one type of violence, the report indicates. Nearly 82% had seen some form of violence against a stranger, while nearly half (48%) reported that they had been a victim of violence at the hands of someone they knew. Adolescents who had either witnessed or been a victim of violence were more likely to report symptoms of depression and PTSD, a condition that affects combat veterans and survivors of natural disasters, violent crimes and serious accidents. Symptoms include intrusive flashbacks to the trauma, nightmares and emotional withdrawal. Those who had witnessed violence at home by someone they knew were also more likely to report symptoms of anxiety, and individuals who witnessed one type of violence were more likely to be exposed to another type, according to the report in the November issue of Injury Prevention. The findings suggest that in South Africa, the level of violence in the home and the community is high, and too many children are at risk for developing potentially serious mental health problems. In general, exposure to violence at a younger age increases the likelihood that it will affect a person's psychological development, Dr. Catherine L. Ward from the University of Cape Town in South Africa told Reuters Health. ``The public health costs of exposure to violence reside not only in the mental health problems themselves, but in their costs to children in terms of resultant interference with their academic and social development, which in turn carry a cost to society,'' Ward and colleagues conclude. They suggest that community- and school-based violence prevention programs, including bullying prevention programs, might help. Mental health programs could also help those who are exposed to violence deal with symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD before they develop into more serious disorders, Ward's team adds. ``Identifying children at risk and providing treatment for them, and preventing violence, must become matters of high priority for mental health professionals and for government,'' the authors conclude. SOURCE: Injury Prevention 2001;7:297-301. Reference Source 89 For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".