Examining the Long-Term Impacts of Exposure to Violence

• In Event: Crime Experiences Involving Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

Research has documented the robust relationship between exposure to violence and adverse behavioral outcomes. But, literature on the persistence of this relationship over time is sparse. This study examines the contemporaneous, short-term, and long-term effects of exposure to violence on property crime, violence, and substance use using three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Focusing on poly-victimization, we assess the impact of the number of experiences with violence, the types of exposure to violence, and their interaction on the likelihood of offending over time. Results indicate that the effect of poly-victimization on property crime and substance use is significant contemporaneously and in the short-term, but attenuated to non-significance in the long-term. The impact of poly-victimization on violence is persistent over time.

Authors

• Chelsea Farrell, Northeastern University

• Greg Zimmerman, Northeastern University