Exposure to Violence: A Qualitative Analysis of Urban Males and War Veterans

• In Event: The Importance of Context in the Exposure to Violence

Abstract

Prior research has well documented the variety of psychological traumas of men returning home for war. For war veterans, PTSD is most often a consequence of exposure to violence, witnessing violence, or engaging in violence. Often, these men come back home with serious trauma that impacts their everyday life. However, what is often not discussed, is the effects of trauma among urban residents. While the criminological literature has well documented that offenders also tend to become victims of violence, this study provides a comparative qualitative analysis of war veterans and urban residents to understand how exposure to violence can impact one’s daily functioning. Using a grounded theory approach to analyze 30 interviews, this study seeks to explore how men make sense of their experiences with violence and specifically how they cope with the aftermath of these experiences over the life-course. Key findings will be presented and discussed.

Author

• Cherrell Green, University of Missouri - St. Louis