Essay On Exposure To Violence

Exposure to violence can affect children in multiple ways. It can interfere with the child's learning, and the child's mental health causing problems such as depression and anxiety. The children who suffer the most from violence exposure in their communities are children of African American or Latino descent living in urban communities. An urban community is described as being a neighborhood that does not have a very pleasing appeal to it, it is very loud and crowded (Bradshaw et al. 2009). There are many different ways that a child can be exposed to violence. Some of the ways that a child is exposed to violence is through the media, witnessing the violence, being the victim, reports of the violence, and war/terrorism (Bradshaw et al. 2009). The exposure of violence can greatly impact the child's development …show more content…
Along with those internal problems children will also exert external behaviors that are problematic to their learning such as problems with conduct, getting along with classmates, and bullying. It has been said that violence happening in their communities leads to academic failure with issues such as low energy and motivation, poor concentration. As well as causing disruptive behavior such as aggression, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. All of these behaviors interrupt the cognitive process that promotes academic and social success. An important factor in school achievement is participation, when a child is a victim of violence or bullying they are likely to feel like they do not belong at school causing them to withdraw from participating in anything related to school. When a child feels that school is a dangerous place physically or emotionally they will avoid school. 5.5% of high school students reported that they were absent at least one day a month because they do not feel safe traveling to and from school, the majority of those students were black or