Psychosocial correlates of exposure to violence are explored to gain insight into how adolescents are affected in areas of school-based adjustment, and also whether specific groups of youth are affected more than others. Data were gathered as part of a study on academic adjustment across two groups of adolescents: one from a Northeastern inner-city school and one from a high school in an affluent suburb. Participants were 493 high school sophomores, 226 of whom were in the urban school. Self-report questionnaires, teacher ratings of classroom behavior, and grades were collected for all participants. A checklist was used to measure exposure to community violence and to derive witnessing and victimization subscales. An index of drug involvement was then developed. The two groups reported remarkably similar levels of self-reported delinquency and involvement in drug dealing. Suburban adolescents reported significantly more illicit substance abuse than the urban students. Inner-city teens had witnessed more community violence, but suburban teens were just as likely to report victimization as were their urban counterparts. The only difference was on having been shot or having been shot at. Suburban teens who reported high victimization were more likely to be using illicit drugs than their inner-city counterparts. It may be that the suburban teens are putting themselves in risky situations at school, but it is more likely that they are traveling to other communities where they are likely to be victimized in conjunction with their high-risk activities. The conclusion of the study suggests that urban teens are exposed to violence at least in part because of their environment, while suburban teens are exposed more as a function of their behavior. (Contains four tables, three figures, and seven references.) (SLD) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Violence exposure, p. 1 Exposure to community violence: Incidence and correlates among inner-city and suburban adolescents Carol H. Ripple, Ph.D. Yale University Kimberly Doyle Suniya S. Luthar, Ph.D. Columbia University Teacher's College U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) ):1-his document has been reproduced as eceived from the person or organization originating it. Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY

In this study, women's levels of ego development and their psychological difficulties were examined in relation to feelings in the maternal role. The sample consisted of 91 mothers from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Ego development was assessed by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test, and psychological difficulties were operationalized by self-reported global symptomatology, maternal substance abuse, and expressed anger. Outcome variables included feelings of satisfaction, distress, and support in the maternal role, as well as the degree to which negative and positive emotions were integrated in response to hypothetical vignettes of challenging everyday child-rearing experiences. Hypotheses were that women at high levels of ego development would show greater deterioration in the presence versus absence of self-reported adjustment problems than would those at lower levels. A series of interaction effects each indicated trends consistent with the hypotheses. These results add to accumulating evidence that tendencies toward self-examination, characteristic of high developmental levels, do not inevitably serve protective functions but may be linked with heightened reactivity to negative intrapsychic forces.