Study highlights how community violence fosters antisocial behaviour in kids

Children and adolescents who are regularly confronted with violence in their communities have a greater tendency to show antisocial behaviour according to the authors of a new study published in the journal Frontiers of Behavioral Neuroscience . The research, from psychiatrists and psychologists at the University Psychiatric Hospital Basel (Switzerland) and the Universities of Bath, Southampton and Birmingham (UK), examined the link between exposure to community violence and antisocial behavior in over 1000 children and adolescents from seven European countries. The study investigated the strength of the association between community violence exposure and antisocial behaviour. Examples of exposure to violence included direct victimisation or witnessing physical fights or people being chased or verbally threatened in their neighbourhoods. Conduct Disorder is one of the most common reasons for referral to mental health services for children and adolescents in Europe. The disorder is defined by oppositional, aggressive and antisocial behaviour and is often associated with negative adult outcomes. Affected individuals are more likely to drop out of school, to be unemployed, and to develop further psychiatric disorders or become involved with the criminal behaviour.