# Witnessing Community Violence and its Consequences: Changes Across Middle School

> **NIH NIH F31** · VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $45,326

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Adolescents growing up in urban neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and violence experience high
rates of community violence. Minority youth are more likely to reside in neighborhoods with high rates of
poverty and violence and consequently report higher rates of exposure than their White peers. Early
adolescents are particularly vulnerable to consequences of community violence because they are increasingly
susceptible to environmental, biological, cognitive, and emotional processes that increase their risk of
psychopathology. Witnessing community violence has been associated with both internalizing and
externalizing symptoms. However, findings of relations between witnessing community violence and
internalizing symptoms have been inconsistent, and theories offer contradictory predictions. There is a gap in
our understanding of the effects of witnessing community violence on adolescent development, which may
reflect limitations of prior studies. The goal of the proposed study is to address those limitations by identifying
trajectories of witnessing community violence across early adolescence, investigating the extent to which
subgroups differ in their trajectories, and determining the extent to which trajectories of witnessing violence are
related to changes in physical aggression and distress symptoms. This goal aligns with NICHD's research
priority of understanding the impact of adverse experiences during childhood and adolescence on development
and identifying periods where intervention could have optimal effects. These aims will be addressed through
analysis of a unique and rich dataset with 12 waves of data that were collected every three months across all
three grades of middle school from a predominantly African American sample of 2,755 early adolescents living
in urban communities with high rates of violence. Latent curve models, growth mixture modeling, and latent
profile analysis will be used to examine within-person changes over time and between-group differences in
within-person change. The specific aims are to: 1) identify within-person changes in witnessing community
violence during early adolescence, 2) investigate longitudinal relations between witnessing community violence
and physical aggression and distress. Sex differences will be examined for each aim. Refinement of theories
related to chronic exposure could inform intervention and prevention efforts to promote positive youth
development. Identification of subgroups with different patterns over time could be used to tailor interventions,
and could highlight periods where interventions might be most effective. Moreover, the research and training
outlined in this NRSA F31 pre-doctoral fellowship application will equip me with the skills and support needed
to pursue a successful career as an independent research scientist by providing me with knowledge of relevant
theoretical models and their application to prevention efforts, competencies in advanced stati...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10313423
- **Project number:** 1F31HD106695-01
- **Recipient organization:** VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah Katherine Pittman
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $45,326
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-08-25 → 2023-08-24

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10313423

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10313423, Witnessing Community Violence and its Consequences: Changes Across Middle School (1F31HD106695-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10313423. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*