Article2005

Somatic Complaints in Children and Community Violence Exposure

Beth Bailey · Virginia Delaney‐Black · John H. Hannigan · Joel W. Ager · Robert J. Sokol · Chandice Y. Covington

63 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics

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Child Abuse and Trauma Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research

Abstract

Somatic complaints of children in primary care settings often go unexplained despite attempts to determine a cause. Recent research has linked violence exposure to stress symptomatology and associated somatic problems. Unknown, however, is whether specific physical symptom complaints can be attributed, at least in part, to violence exposure. Urban African-American 6- and 7-year-old children (N = 268), residing with their biological mothers, recruited before birth, and without prenatal exposure to hard illicit drugs participated. Children and mothers were evaluated in our hospital-based research laboratory, with teacher data collected by mail. Community violence exposure (Things I Have Seen and Heard), stress symptomatology (Levonn), and somatic complaints (teacher-and self-report items) were assessed. Additional data collected included prenatal alcohol exposure, socioeconomic status, domestic violence, maternal age, stress, somatic complaints and psychopathology, and child depression, abuse, and gender. Community violence witnessing and victimization were associated with stress symptoms (r = .26 and .25, respectively, p < .001); violence victimization was related to decreased appetite (r = .16, p < .01), difficulty sleeping (r = .21, p < .001), and stomachache complaints (r = .13, p < .05); witnessed violence was associated with difficulty sleeping (r = .13, p < .05) and headaches (r = .12, p < .05). All associations remained significant after control for confounding. Community violence exposure accounted for 10% of the variance in child stress symptoms, and children who had experienced community violence victimization had a 28% increased risk of appetite problems, a 94% increased risk of sleeping problems, a 57% increased risk of headaches, and a 174% increased risk of stomachaches. Results provide yet another possibility for clinicians to explore when treating these physical symptoms in children.

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References

1979Measuring Intrafamily Conflict and Violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales 1987Life Threat and Posttraumatic Stress in School-age Children 1993The Nimh Community Violence Project: I. Children as Victims of and Witnesses to Violence 1998The role of exposure to community violence and developmental problems among inner-city youth 1995Adolescents' Exposure to Violence and Associated Symptoms of Psychological Trauma 1993The Prevalence and Consequences of Exposure to Violence among African-American Youth 1993The Nimh Community Violence Project: II. Children’s Distress Symptoms Associated with Violence Exposure 2000Sleep patterns and sleep disruptions in school-age children.

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