Children in a Violent Society
Edited by Joy D. Osofsky
“Anyone interested in understanding the complex threat of exposure to violence to the well-being of our children will benefit from reading and rereading Children in a Violent Society.”
—Psychiatric Services
“Excellent....Contains an extensive range of information for professionals in the fields of health care, mental health, criminal justice, child advocacy, public health, and social and human services.”
—New England Journal of Medicine
“The contributors include some of the leading lights in the field....Children in a Violent Society will serve public health and public safety officials charged with reducing the levels and impacts of violence. Sadly, the overwhelming number of children affected also makes the book a must-read for developmental pediatricians and child mental health workers caring for urban children in the United States.”
—Journal of the American Medical Association
“This book is a unique contribution to our understanding of a problem that is of increasing concern to people here and abroad, but which has received inadequate public attention to date. Over the last two decades, there has been much needed and increased attention to the long-term consequences of childhood victimization, but less attention has been paid to problems that are seen in younger children who witness violence. In keeping with this focus, this volume adopts a developmental perspective to understanding the impact of violence exposure and witnessing violence on children and youth. Although the emphasis is on developmental factors, such as neurodevelopmental effects, effects in infancy, and attachment issues, chapters are wide-ranging and include pieces on firearms injuries and media violence. The book's contributors argue for early preventive intervention and provide examples of innovative prevention and intervention programs for children and families exposed to violence in cities around the country.”
—Cathy Spatz Widom, PhD, Professor of Criminal Justice and Psychology, The University at Albany (SUNY)
“As judges handling acts of violence in criminal and family court, we rarely look beyond the legal parties and inquire about witnessing violence by children. Dr. Osofsky has documented the alarming rate of occurrence of violence in the lives of our children, has explained the developmental delays and traumatic stress and other effects of violence exposure on children, and has described several innovative education and treatment programs. She has given us the tools to begin to initiate systemic reform. This is a book that every judge should read.”
—Judge Cindy Lederman, Circuit Court Judge, Juvenile Justice Center, Dade County, Florida; Former Administrator of Dade County Domestic Violence Court
“This is one of the most important books that I have seen. We live in the most violent industrialized country in the world. Violence is increasingly a major influence in our children's lives. Unless we begin to think preventively, violence in their world is bound to escalate and they are bound to be more vulnerable to it. This volume approaches it from a preventive standpoint, and covers the impact on our infants and children if we don't move to prevent violence in their world. We are becoming increasingly aware of the earliest effects on children's development. This volume should stir us all to act!”
—T. Berry Brazelton, MD, The Brazelton Center for Infants & Parents
“...an impressive, cross-disciplinary set of essays, literature reviews, and empirical studies that will appeal to developmental, clinical community, and forensic psychologists, as well as to specialists in law, social work, psychiatry, sociology, and law enforcement....The individual chapters of the volume integrate surprisingly well....Perusal of the complete volume is recommended for most readers, but those interested only in particular topics will find individual chapters informative and easily comprehended without the context of the volume as a whole.....CHILDREN IN A VIOLENT SOCIETY is a readable, informative and relatively comprehensive work. It promises to serve as a valuable resource for specialists in a wide range of disciplines interested in a continuing crisis, the implications of violence for America's youth.”
—David C. Schwebel, Contemporary Psychology
Table of Contents
Foreword, Peter Scharf, Ph.D.I. Scope of the Problem
1. Children and Youth Violence: An Overview of the Issues, Joy D. Osofsky
2. Exposure and Response to Community Violence among Children and Adolescents, Esther J. Jenkins and Carl C. Bell
3. What Children Can Tell Us about Living in a War Zone, James Garbarino and Kathleen Kostelny
4. Firearm Injuries Affecting U.S. Children and Adolescents, Katherine Kaufer Christoffel
5. Media Violence and Youth, John P. Murray
6. The Experience and Effects of Violence in Infancy, Charles H. Zeanah and Michael S. Scheeringa
7. Incubated in Terror: Neurodevelopmental Factors in the "Cycle of Violence," Bruce D. Perry
8. The Development of Violence and Crime as It Relates to Security of Attachment, Peter Fonagy, Mary Target, Miriam Steele, and Howard Steele
II. Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Families Exposed to Violence
9. Interventions with Parnets and Caregivers of Children Who Are Exposed to Violence, Betsy McAllister Groves and Barry Zuckerman
10. Experiencing Violence in a Developmental Context, Steven Marans and Anne Adelman
11. The Trauma/Grief-Focused Group Psychotherapy Module of an Elementary School-Based Violence Prevention/Intervention Project, Lisa Murphy, Robert S. Pynoos, and C. Boyd James
12. The Violence Intervention Project for Children and Families, Joy D. Osofsky
13. Perceptions of Violence: Children, Parents, and Police Officers, Ana C. Fick, Joy D. Ososfsky, and Marva L. Lewis
14. Violent Cities, Violent Streets: Children Draw Their Neighborhoods, Marva L. Lewis and Joy D. Ososfsky
15. Cops and Kids: Issues for Community Policing, Pamerla Jenkins, Ruth Seydlitz, Joy D. Osofsky, and Ana C. Fick
16. Prevention and Policy: Directions for the Future, Joy. D. Osofsky
About the Editor
Joy D. Osofsky, PhD, a psychologist and psychoanalyst, is Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) in New Orleans. She is President of Zero to Three/National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families; past president of the World Association for Infant Mental Health; and Director of the Violence Intervention Program for Children and Families and the LSUHSC Harris Center for Infant Mental Health. Following Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Osofsky was asked to serve as Clinical Director of Child and Adolescent Initiatives for Louisiana Spirit for the Louisiana State Department of Health and Hospitals, Office of Mental Health. She is editor or coeditor of Young Children and Trauma,Audience
Practitioners, researchers, and students in clinical and developmental psychology, related mental health fields, education, law enforcement, public health, and public policy.Serves as primary or supplementary reading for courses on child development, violence prevention, and youth violence.