Growing up - or not - with Gun Violence.
Judy Schaechter1, Patricia G Alvarez1
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Holtz Children's Hospital at Jackson Health Systems, 1601 Northwest 12th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
Pediatric Clinics of North America
|August 28, 2016
Summary
Firearm injuries are a major threat to child and adolescent development, increasing risks and long-term harm. Adults and society must prioritize protecting youth from gun violence and its consequences.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatric Medicine
- Sociology
Background:
- Firearm injury is a primary cause of death and disability among children and adolescents.
- Childhood developmental stages, behavioral variations, and mental health status are critical factors influencing firearm injury risk and post-violence morbidity.
- Family, community, and environmental factors significantly amplify the risk of firearm violence exposure in youth.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the profound impact of firearm injuries on child and adolescent development.
- To underscore the multifaceted risks associated with firearm violence for young populations.
- To emphasize the societal obligation in safeguarding children and adolescents from firearm-related harm.
Main Methods:
- Literature review on pediatric firearm injury.
- Analysis of developmental and mental health impacts.
- Examination of socio-environmental risk factors.
Main Results:
- Firearm injuries significantly impede normal child development and can lead to lasting disability.
- Vulnerability factors in youth, including developmental stage and mental health, exacerbate injury risks and recovery.
- Broader societal and familial contexts play a crucial role in mediating firearm violence exposure.
Conclusions:
- Protecting children and adolescents from firearm violence is an essential responsibility for adults and social structures.
- Interventions must address individual vulnerabilities and broader environmental risks.
- Preventing firearm injury is critical for ensuring healthy child and adolescent development.
Related Concept Videos
02:04Bullying
8.9K
A modern form of aggression is bullying. As you learn in your study of child development, socializing and playing with other children is beneficial for children’s psychological development. However, as you may have experienced as a child, not all play behavior has positive outcomes. Some children are aggressive and want to play roughly. Other children are selfish and do not want to share toys. One form of negative social interactions among children that has become a national concern is...
8.9K
01:47Aggression
30.6K
Humans engage in aggression when they seek to cause harm or pain to another person. Aggression takes two forms depending on one’s motives: hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain; a fight in a bar with a stranger is an example of hostile aggression. In contrast, instrumental aggression is motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain (Berkowitz, 1993); a contract killer who murders for...
30.6K
01:20Traumatic Memory
667
Emotionally traumatic events often lead to memories that are exceptionally vivid and enduring, sometimes persisting with remarkable clarity throughout an individual's life. A classic example of this phenomenon is a person who survives a car accident. Even years later, they may recall every detail of the event with startling accuracy — the screeching of the tires, the jarring impact, and the acrid smell of burning rubber. Such vividness contrasts sharply with how an individual...
667
01:29Relationship with Other Adult Family Members and Siblings
223
Other adult family members and siblings play a crucial role in shaping children’s social and emotional development. While parents or primary caregivers are often the central figures in early attachment and socialization, other adults in a child’s life, such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles, can significantly influence developmental outcomes. These influences depend on each adult’s personality and may help compensate when a primary caregiver is emotionally distant or...
223
01:28Conduct Disorder
790
Conduct disorder is a complex mental health diagnosis characterized by a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior that violates societal norms, the rights of others, or age-appropriate rules. The diagnostic criteria for conduct disorder require the presence of at least three problematic behaviors within the past 12 months, with at least one occurring in the past six months. These behaviors are grouped into four categories: aggression toward people and animals; destruction of property;...
790
02:10Social Scripts
10.4K
People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script's features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter),...
10.4K