Children's exposure to community violence

Purpose: To analyze the effects of exposure to chronic community violence on children and adolescents. Design: An integrative review of the literature was conducted on reports of studies about children's exposure to community violence. Sources: Studies for analysis were identified through a literature search of relevant topics in Medline, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Conclusions: Exposure to community violence is related to significant stress and depression in children. Evidence on how exposure to violence affects children's growth patterns, intellectual growth, school performance, decision-making ability, or their hope for a future is needed.