The Cycle of Violence: Neighborhood Concerns as a Mediator between Childhood Maltreatment and Gun Violence

By Sophie L. Kjærvik, Victoria J. Blondell, Nicholas D. Thomson

Gun violence remains a persistent public health issue in the United States. Two notable risk factors for violence include childhood maltreatment and exposure to community violence. Yet, little is known about the link between childhood maltreatment and gun violence in adulthood and whether a lack of community safety (i.e., increased firearm presence and violence) may explain the association. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between childhood maltreatment (i.e., emotional abuse and neglect, physical abuse and neglect, and sexual abuse) and firearm violence while examining the potential mediating role of neighborhood concerns among adults hospitalized with violent injuries. Participants and setting: The study included 329 violently injured adults (Mage = 32.7) recruited from a Level 1 Trauma Center in Virginia. Methods: Participants completed assessments of childhood maltreatment, neighborhood concerns, and firearm violence. Results: All forms of childhood maltreatment, except for emotional neglect, were related to firearm violence. Neighborhood concerns partially mediate the relation between both emotional abuse and physical abuse and firearm violence and fully mediate the relation between both sexual abuse and physical neglect and firearm violence. The results show the critical importance of addressing both individual-level trauma and broader social determinants of health (i.e., community violence) in violence prevention efforts. Conclusion: By understanding the pathways through which childhood maltreatment manifests in community settings and contributes to firearm violence, the findings offer valuable insights for informing targeted interventions and policy initiatives aimed at reducing the prevalence of firearm-related violence and fostering safer neighborhood

Unpublished paper, 2024. 43p.