Child Attachment Style as a Predictive Factor for Internalization and Externalization of Witnessing Community Violence

Abstract

Internalization and externalization of negative symptomology associated with witnessing community violence can manifest in a number of disorders in children. Of those disorders diagnosed in childhood, research has shown that conduct disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, and disruptive mood dysregulation have a potential link to witnessing violence. Internalization symptoms can manifest as depressive mood, low self-esteem, and deficits in social interaction, poor interpersonal relationships, behavioral difficulties, and an overall poor adjustment. Externalization symptoms typically manifest in outwardly aggressive behaviors like physical and verbal violence, destruction of property, self-harm or self-destructive behaviors, tantrums, and antisocial tendencies. This review seeks to investigate the relation between attachment styles and the internalization and externalization of symptoms associated with witnessing community violence among African American youths who live in a lower income urban portion of the inner city. This study seeks to answer the following questions: What is the relationship between school, gender, and age of the participant and the expression of symptomology, what is the relationship between attachment style and symptomology, does violence severity moderate the relationship between witnessing community violence and symptomology, does attachment style moderate the relationship between witnessing violence and symptomology, and does attachment style moderate the relationship between violence severity and symptomology?