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Violent environments and their effects on children

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Violent environments and their effects on children

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Content VIOLENT ENVIRONMENTS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON CHILDREN
by
Lisa Michelle Henry
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(Clinical Psychology)
May 1995
Copyright 1995 Lisa M. Henry
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
TH E GRADUATE SCHOO L
UNIVERSITY PARK
LOS ANGELES. CALIFO RNIA 9 0 0 0 7
This thesis,'written by
.......................Lisa..MAchglle„Hsncx____________
under the direction of k.&r. Thesis Committee,
and approved by all its members, has been pre
sented to and accepted by the Dean of The
Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Master of. Arts (Clinical Psychology)....
Dion
Date Febrt|5 7 1995
THESIS COMMITTEE
Chairman
This w ork is dedicated to all th e children w ho have to live in a
violent w orld.
A cknow ledgm ents
First, I thank the Lord God who provided me with strength and
faith. I thank my wonderful m other and father, for their
neverending love, wisdom, and support. I love you both with all of
my heart. I also thank my sister for her love, hum or and her gentle
rem inders of the "real world". 1 thank Jason for his constant love
and support. I give my sincerest and deepest thanks to Dr. Patricia
Brennan. Patty, I would not have m ade it without your faith and
guidance. Finally, I thank my committee members Dr. Gayla
Margolin, Dr. Margaret Gatz, and Dr. Rand Wilcox for their knowledge
and their belief in me.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
USTOFTABLES..........................................................................v
LIST OF FIGURES....................................................................vii
ABSTRACT.................................................................................viii
CHAPTER I- INTRODUCTION..................................................1
CHAPTER II-METHOD.............................................................. 8
Subjects.......................................................................... 8
Procedure.......................................................................11
Measures........................................................................ 12
CHAPTER III-RESULTS............................................................24
CHAPTER IV-DISCUSSION..................................................... 34
REFERENCES..............................................................................41
APPENDIX.................................................................................. 48
A. Means and Standard Deviations
(or Proportions) of Demographic Characteristics
for Total Sample and Final Sample............................ 49
B. Neighborhood Crime Recording Form..............50
C. Domestic Conflict Index Scales............................. 51
D. Definitions of UCR Crimes Against the Person and
Property..........................................................................52
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE Page
1. Means and Standard Deviations (or Proportions)
of Demographic Characteristics for Girls and Boys.........................11
2. Means and Standard Deviations of C riterion Variables
forGirls and Boys....................................................................................13
3. Means and Standard Deviations (or Proportions)
of Demographic Characteristics for th e Four Sub-Groups
ofGirls............................................................................................................ 19
4. Means and Standard Deviations (or Proportions)
of Demographic Characteristics for the Four Sub-Groups
ofBoys.............................................................................................................20
5. Correlation Coefficients am ong Com m unity Violence, Physical
Aggression w ithin the M arriage and Gross Income for the
Total Sample, Girls, and Boys...................................................................25
6. Means and (Standard Deviations)of Four Subgroups o f Boys
Classified According to Level o f Violence in the Com m unity
and Level of M arital Violence on M easures of Child Depression,
Anxiety, Internalizing an d Externalizing Functioning, Hostility,
and Aggression............................................................................................. 27
LIST OF TABLES-CONTINUED
TABLE Page
7. Means and (Standard D eviations)of Four Subgroups of
Girls Classified According to Level of Violence in the
C om m unity and Level of M arital Violence on M easures of
Child Depression, Anxiety, Internalizing an d Externalizing
Functioning, Hostility, and Aggression.................................................30
8. Yuen Test Statistics and .95 Confidence Limits of Two
Subgroups o f Girls Classified According to Level of
Com m unity Violence an d Level o f M arital Violence on
M easures of Child Depression, Anxiety, Externalizing,
Functioning.................................................................................................31
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE Page
1. Mean depression levels as a function of level of
community violence and marital violence........................................... 32
2. Mean anxiety levels as a function of level of
community violence and marital violence........................................... 33
3. Mean externalizing t-score levels as a function
of level of community violence and marital violence......................34
ABSTRACT
The current study examined the com bined effects of violence
within a child's home, and violence within a child's com m unity on the
child's behavior. Group differences were analyzed among children
who lived (1) in a family with a high as com pared to a low degree of
m arital violence and (2) in a neighborhood with high as com pared to
a low rate of com m unity violence (as m easured by reported police
crime statistics). The hypothesis posits children exposed to a high
level of both risk factors would have a higher level of behavioral
problem s than their peers. Sixty-six girls and sixty-two boys, ages
8-11, were investigated. A 2 x 2 m ultivariate analysis of variance
indicates girls who live in environm ents with a high level of both
com m unity and intram arital violence have greater anxiety,
depression, and externalizing behaviors than girls who live with low
levels of both com m unity and intram arital violence. Results for boys
were not significant. The results suggest the presence of additive
violence increase girls’ vulnerability to behavioral problems.
Conversely, for boys, the presence of violence did not increase boys'
vulnerability to behavioral problems.
Key Words: Childhood Behavior Problems, Marital Discord, Marital
Violence, Community Violence
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
X
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Due to th e significant in terrelation betw een childhood behavioral
problem s a n d serious a d u lt problem s, researchers investigating the
etiology o f childhood behavioral problem s have attem p ted to identify
"risk factors", w hich increase the likelihood o f a child's developing a
behavioral or em otional d iso rd er in com parison w ith a random ly
selected child from th e sam e com m unity (Cummings, 1987; Dadds,
1987; Garmezy, 1985; Jouriles, Barling, & O'Leary, 1987; Rae-Grant,
Thom as, Offord, & Boyle 1989; Stiffman, Jung, & Feldm an, 1986).
C urrently, behavioral problem s like depression, anxiety and
aggression concern researchers; thus, risk factors th a t m ight relate to
aggression o r depression, o f w hich exposure to violence a t hom e an d
in the com m unity are two, w arran t em pirical investigation.
M oreover, since m ost children live in a com m unity o r familial
environm ent, violence w ithin these environm ents has the p otential
to affect large num bers of children. W hile previous research has
exam ined eith e r the relationship betw een com m unity violence an d
childhood behavioral problem s o r the relationship betw een m arital
violence a n d childhood behavior problem s, no stu d y has y et to
investigate th e im pact o f b oth com m unity an d m arital violence on
childhood behavioral problem s. B andura's (1973) Social Learning
T heory an d C um m ing's (1987) Background A nger T heory provide
explanations o f how violence w ithin the m arriage o r com m unity
result in child psychopathology. The p resen t study investigates the
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
2
individual an d com bined effects of violence w ithin the m arriage an d
com m unity on children's behavior.
The crim e level o f a com m unity and the level o f m arital violence
are two environm ental risk factors th a t affect a substantial portion o f
A m erican children. Across the country, the rate o f violent crim e
doubled betw een 1968 a n d 1980 (Henslin, 1990), and in Los Angeles,
the hom icide ra te increased by 16% in 1990 (Richters & M artinez,
1993). D ependent children w itness ten to tw enty p ercent o f the
annual 2,000 hom icides in Los Angeles county (Pynoos & Eth, 1986),
an d hom icide is the second leading cause o f d eath for Am erican
children age 15-19 years old(Sim on, Dent, & Sussman, 1994). In
addition, 60% o f all m arried couples will experience inter-spousal
aggression at som e p o in t in th eir m arriage (Jouriles et al., 1987;
Straus, Gelles, & Steinm etz, 1980). M oreover, ab o u t 12% o f fem ale
respondents in two national surveys rep o rted violent spousal
incidents in the hom e (Straus & Gelles, 1986). Therefore, these
factors have the potential to affect large num bers o f children.
B andura's Social Learning T heory (1973) has provided a
theoretical explanation for the effects o f violence on a child's
behavior. Social learning theory posits th a t children learn behaviors
by w itnessing an d copying behaviors. W hen p arents m odel a high
degree o f problem atic behaviors in fro n t o f the child, then the child's
likelihood o f learning an d im itating these behaviors (e.g., fighting)
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
3
increases. Substantiating this theory, empirical evidence has
revealed increased problem behavior in children from aggressive
homes (Jouriles et al., 1987; Kempton et al., 1989).
Social learning theory also can be applied at the com m unity
level. Fry (1982) determ ined that inter-com m unity differences in
aggression were reflected among groups of children in Zapotec,
Mexico. The children from the m ore aggressive com m unity
engaged in higher levels o f play an d real fighting than the
children from the less aggressive comm unity, despite gender. Just
as children may im itate violence in the community, a couple may
do so as well. Social learning theory would predict higher rates of
spousal violence in violent communities. In fact, Richters and
Martinez (1993) determ ined th at children who lived in violent
com m unities had parents whose prevalence rates of within-family
violence were five to six times the national average.
Cumming's background anger theory (1987) also has been
offered as an explanation for the effect of m arital and com m unity
violence on childhood behavioral problems. Cumming's theory
suggests th at the presence of discordant environm ents affects
children even though they may not be the direct recipients of
discord (Cummings, 1987; Richter's & Martinez, 1993). Exposure
to anger between others, term ed background anger, can elicit
em otional arousal, distress and increased aggressiveness
(Cummings etal., 1989; Cummings, Iannotti, & Zahn-Waxler,
1985). Children's responses to violent environm ents may include
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
4
feelings of insecurity and hyper-arousal (Garbarino, 1994).
According to Garbarino (1992) when children are living in safe
environm ents (nonviolent families and communities), children
form attachm ents and develop feelings of security and trust.
However, when children are living in violent environm ents, the
child's developm ent and growth are fundam entally threatened.
Social learning theory (Bandura, 1973) and background anger
theories (Cummings, 1987) are two distinct conceptualizations of
the link between violence and childhood behavioral problem s, yet
both can be conceptualized u nder the rubric of ecological
development. Both theories suggest that through social learning or
background anger, the child's home or com m unity can produce
change in the developm ental process. Therefore, each
environm ent has the capability to create the context for either
healthy o r unhealthy developm ent.
Numerous investigations have been conducted to determ ine
the relationship between com m unity violence and childhood
behavioral problems (Dubrow & Garbarino, 1989; Kempton,
Thomas & Forehand, 1989; Garbarino, Kostelny, Dubrow, 1991;
Nader, Pynoos, Fairbanks, & Frederick, 1990; Osofsky, Wewers,
Hann, & Fick, 1993; Pynoos & Nader, 1988; Pynoos & Nader, 1990;
Richter's & Martinez, 1993; Zuravin, 1989), and to determ ine the
relationship between m arital violence and childhood behavioral
problem s (Cummings, Iannotti, & Zahn-Waxler, 1985; Doumas,
Margolin, & John, in press; Emery, Joyce & Fincham, 1987;
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
5
Fantuzzo, DePaola, Lambert, Martino, Anderson & Sutton, 1991;
Fincham & Osborne, 1993; Gelles, 1987; Hershorn & Rosenbaum,
1985; Howes & Markman, 1989; Jouriles et al., 1987; Margolin,
1990; Porter & O'Leary, 1989; Reid & Crisafulli, 1990).
Researchers have determ ined that children exposed to violent
environm ents exhibit various behavioral problem s including
aggression, depression, post-traum atic stress disorder, anxiety,
and social withdrawal (Attar & Guerra, 1994; Cummings et al.,
1985; Fantuzzo etal., 1991; Fry, 1982; G arbarino etal., 1991;
Hershorn & Rosenbaum, 1985; Osofsky et al, 1993; Pynoos &
Nadar, 1990). In some cases, children's sym ptom s (e.g., self-
reported depression) have been m aintained after two years (Attar
& Guerra, 1994).
Gender differences have been determ ined in girls' and boys’
behavioral responses to violence. Boys appear to respond by
expressing lack of control behaviors such as aggression and conduct
disorders, while girls display over-controlled behaviors such as
withdraw al and anxiety (Emery & O'Leary, 1984). In accord with
social learning theoiy, children may be im itating th eir same sex
parent, with husbands tending to express externalizing behaviors
while wives express internalizing behaviors. These results suggest
th at researchers should exam ine boys an d girls separately w hen
investigating the effects of m arital or com m unity violence on
behavior.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
6
Osofsky e t al., (1993) and Richters and M artinez (1993)
suggest th a t children who are already a t risk for experiencing
familial violence an d are then exposed to com m unity violence
could be at an increased risk for developing personality an d
behavioral problem s. The idea o f additive risk suggests th a t a
child exposed to violence w ithin the family as well as the
com m unity m ay be a t greater risk than a child exposed to either
risk factor alone an d m ay have a greater likelihood of developing
behavioral problem s. Researchers have determ ined th a t w hen
children have two of six familial risk factors (severe m arital
discord, large family size, m aternal psychiatric disorder, paternal
crim inality, low social status, o r adm ission into the care o f local
authority) th eir overall level of risk for child psychiatric disorder
increased (Rae-Grant e t al., 1989; Rutter, 1981). While m ost
children can cope w ith m inim al risk, the accum ulation of risk
could lead to the developm ent o f psychological and behavioral
difficulties, especially am ong already vulnerable children
(Sam eroff & Siefer, 1993). F urther research is necessary to
identify family an d com m unity factors associated w ith high and
low levels of violence exposure by children.
Despite the docum ented influence th at the family an d com m unity
have on children, both research areas have confined them selves to
investigating, independently, their relationship with behavioral
problem s. Consequently, a gap exists in the literature w ith respect to
the additive im pact of these two variables on behavioral problem s.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
7
The cu rren t study attem pts to build an em pirical foundation
regarding the effects o f both violence in th e hom e and neighborhood.
The stu d y expands th e cu rre n t literatu re by addressing how both
m arital a n d com m unity violence affects the child. The following
hypotheses are proposed: (1) a child w hose parents display high
levels of m arital violence will exhibit m ore behavior problem s th an a
child w hose p aren ts display low levels o f m arital violence; (2)
ch ild ren w ho live in com m unities w ith high levels o f violence will
exhibit m ore behavior problem s th an children w ho live in
com m unities w ith low levels of violence; (3) an additive relationship
will exist betw een m arital violence a n d com m unity violence, such
that, a child w ho is exposed to both risk factors will have a higher
degree o f childhood behavioral problem s th an a child who is exposed
to eith er risk factor alone; a n d (4) a correlation betw een m arital
violence an d com m unity violence will exist. The p resen t stu d y will
test these hypotheses on a variety o f behavior problem s including
depression, anxiety, aggression, hostility, a n d overall m easures of
externalizing an d internalizing behavior problem s. As past literatu re
suggests th a t boys a n d girls m anifest behavior problem s differently
(e.g., externally for boys; internally for girls), analyses will be
conducted separately for boys an d girls.
T here are m any confounds w hen studying com m unity violence
including socio-econom ic status (G arbarino e t al., 1992). Low
socioeconom ic status is recognized because o f its correlation to
com m unity violence an d m arital aggression in som e studies.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
8
Socioeconomic status will be a covariate in the analyses if SES is
determ ined to be correlated with either risk factor.
CHAPTER II
Method
Subjects
One hundred and eighty-one families were recruited by direct
mailings and public announcem ents throughout Los Angeles and
Orange counties. Each family was composed of two parents and a
child between eight and eleven years old. Families were selected
based on the following criteria: both parents had to (1) to speak and
read English; (2) be either the biological parents of the child or the
non-biological parent m ust have lived with the child since age two;
(3) be willing to participate in at least one laboratory session with
their child. Additionally, the family m ust have had a telephone.
All families participated in a four-hour laboratory session. In
addition, families completed questionnaires at home, prior to the
laboratory session. Families were paid $60 for their participation in
the laboratory session and were given the option of completing
questionnaires everyday for an additional five weeks for an extra
$50.
In order to be considered for the present study, the police
departm ent affiliated with the family’s community was asked to
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
9
provide crim e statistics. Fifty-three fam ilies w ere excluded from the
p resen t stu d y for the following reasons: (1) police d ep artm en ts failed
to respond to the req u est (n=28); (2) police d epartm ents required a
fee before releasing the inform ation (n=9); (3) families had addresses
w here population statistics w ere unavailable (n=7); (4) police
d ep artm en ts no longer retained the inform ation on crim e statistics
(n=4); (5) families listed a post office box n u m b er as an address
(n=3); an d (6) police dep artm en ts stated th e inform ation was not
available to th e public (n=2). Thus, th e final sam ple for the present
stu d y consisted o f 128 fam ilies (66 girls a n d 62 boys).
S tu d en t’s t-tests an d chi-square analyses indicated th a t th e final
sam ple did not differ from th e original sam ple on age o f eith er
p aren t, educational level o f eith er p aren t, m onthly gross incom e,
child's age, grade o f child, o r ethnicity (see A ppendix A). The ethnic
com position of the couples was as follows: 46.1% Caucasian, 31.2%
African-Am erican, 3.9% Latino, a n d 18.8% biracial o r o th er ethnic
identity. The University o f Southern C alifornia's In tern al Review
Board (IRB) had already given approval for the use o f h u m an
subjects since th e larger study h ad been in progress for a n u m b er o f
years.
The m eans an d stan d ard deviations o f th e dem ographic
characteristics for th e 66 families w ith girls an d the 62 fam ilies w ith
boys are show n in Table 1. U nivariate t-tests w ere ru n on all
continuous variables an d chi-square analyses w ere perform ed on all
categorical variables. U nivariate t-tests indicate th a t the boys scored
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
10
higher th an the girls on the W echsler Intelligence Scale for Children-
Revised (WISC-R; W echsler, 1974) block design subtest, t (125) =
-2.27, £ < .05. In addition, the m others of the boys were significantly
older than the m others o f the girls, i_(125)=-2.08, £<.05. As shown in
Table 1, the girls an d boys did not significantly differ on any o th er
characteristics. Additionally, chi-square tests indicate no significant
differences between the boys an d girls on ethnicity.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
11
Table 1
Means and Standard Deviations for Proportions) of
Demographic Characteristics for Girls a and Bovs* 3.
Domain/Measures
Girls
M SD
Boys
M SD
t-tests
df(125)
Child Age 9.97 1.12 10.10 1.44 1.05
Child Grade Level 4.39 1.28 4.41 1.33 -.01
WISC-R Information Scale Score 10.85 2.66 1131 3.32 -1.04
WISC-R Block Design Scale Score 10.50 3.59 11.76 3.95 -2.27*
Ethnicity (%)
3,52 (3)1
Caucasian 47.0
-
45.2
-
African-American 30.3
-
32.3
-
Latino 3.0
-
4.8
-
Biracial/Other 19.7
-
17.7
-
Wife Age 36.65 5.27 38.57 5.57 -2.08*
Husband Age 38.79 5.99 40.55 7.04 -1.65
Wife Education 14.24 2.14 14.15 2.11 .44
Husband Education 14.97 2.63 14.47 2.32 1.05
Monthly Gross Income 4090 356.8 3900 346.59 -.58
Note. Monthly gross income is reported by median and standard
error.
a n=66. h n =62.
1-X2
* p<05.
Procedures
Family m em bers were separated for the initial procedures. The
parents com pleted packets of questionnaires, including a m arital
violence questionnaire verbally adm inistered by the experim enter.
Both parents were frequently checked to verify that no item had
been om itted an d to inquire about questions. A second experim enter
verbally adm inistered questionnaires to the child.
Following com pletion of the laboratory visit, the police
departm ent affiliated with the family's com m unity was contacted by
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
12
letter o r phone to obtain com m unity crim e statistics for the 12
m onth period prior to the laboratory visit. For example, if a family
came in on March 3, 1990, crim e statistics from March 1989 to
March 1990 were obtained. Crimes were characterized by the
experim enter as either crimes against the person or crimes against
the property. Raw data were either sent by the police departm ent to
the experim enter or obtained by the experim enter at the police
station or library. All crim e data were transferred to a neighborhood
crim e recording form (devised for the present study) and tabulated
by two separate reporters twice, for accuracy (see Appendix B). In
addition, the population and area of each reporting district were
recorded to com pute a final crim e score.
Measures
For the purpose of this specific study, only questionnaires
concerning m arital violence, crime, and childhood behavioral
problem s were used. Means and standard deviations for each of the
outcom e m easures are presented in Table 2 .
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
13
Table 2
Means and Standard Deviations of Criterion Variables for
Girls a and Bovsb
Domain/Measures M
Girls
SD M
Bovs
SD
CBCL
Internalizing Scale 54.02 9.26 53.51 8.54
Externalizing Scale 53.38 9.18 54.56 9.17
CHI Hostility Index 4.89 2.11 5.27 2.23
Aggression Index 8.01 2.79 9.09 2.82
Child Depression Inventory 31.20 4.17 32.53 4.79
Spieiberger Anxiety Scale 34.94 5.92 35.29 5.56
Note. CBCL=Child Behavior Checklist; CHI= Children’s Hostility
Inventory.
For each measure, higher scores reflect greater dysfunction.
a n=66. bn=62.
Marital Aggression. The degree of m arital violence for each couple
was m easured with the Domestic Conflict Index (DCI, Margolin et
al.,1990). The DCI, (Margolin et al., 1990) is a fifty-two item self-
report index designed to m easure m arital conflict style. The
questions on the DCI are com posed o f items regarding physical
violence, verbal and psychological aggression, as well as the six
verbal aggression item s and the eight violence items from the
Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, 1979). The DCI was adm inistered
twice to each spouse, once for his o r h er own behaviors, ("I have
done this to my spouse"), and once for the partner's behaviors
towards him o r her ("My spouse has done this to me"). The first 3-5
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
14
items were com pleted in the presence of the experim enter to clarify
the directions.
The respondent read a question (e.g., “Have you ever scream ed or
yelled at your spouse”) and checked if the behavior had ever
occurred in the history of h is/h e r relationship. If (yes), the
respondent indicated w hether o r not the behavior happened in front
of the child that was present in the lab. Then the respondent
indicated, on a scale from "0" to "greater than once a week", how
Frequently the behavior occurred within the last year regardless of
the child’s presence. However, if the behavior had never occurred in
the history o f the relationship, the respondent checked (no) and went
to the next question.
For each couple, a total m arital violence score was com puted by
summing the scores from scale 2 (Destroy Possessions) com prised of
three items, scale 6 (Cruelty) com prised of nine items and scale 8
(Physical Aggression) com prised o f eleven items. The total physical
aggression scale score ranged from 0-35. Because both husbands and
wives tend to under-report conflict (Doumas et al., in press), the
sums of these scales were based on the maximum score reported for
each specific item from either the husband or wife. The questions
that derive these scales are noted in Appendix C. The range of
scores on the DCI was 0-18 for the parents of the girls and 0-35 for
the parents of the boys. Regarding the scores for boys, one subject
had a score of 3 5. The rest of the sam ple ranged from 0-18. For
analysis, this subject's score was trim m ed to the next lowest score in
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
15
the sample (18). The overall mean was 3.59 (s.d.=5.30) for the total
sample. The range of the scores was 0-35.
Neighborhood: Operational Definition. The first step identified
an operational definition of "neighborhood/community" through the
use o f police reporting districts. Previous literature suggests that
calculations of crime by large units of analysis, such as cities,
counties, or zip codes, are not considered adequate measures of
neighborhood violence (Zuravin& Taylor, 1987).
The selection of the reporting district as the unit of community
provides three benefits. First, the police reporting correspond with
the census tract which has been reported the best available choice
for operationally defining neighborhoods (Zuravin,1989; Zuravin &
Taylor, 1987). Census tract affiliation also allowed access to CD ROM
population and area statistics. Second, the reporting districts provide
an annual comprehensive look at the frequency of crime within
specific categories during a specified quarter ( a specified quarter is
either January-March, April-June, July-September, or October -
December). Thus, collecting specific data on the families’
neighborhoods during the time they were subjects became possible.
Finally, because most police departm ents keep official crime reports
for each area the data were accessible. The current sample's mean
crime score was 94.8 (s.d.=114.5) with a range from 0-823 crimes.
Population Measure. The population size and area (km2)of each
reporting district were recorded to com pute a final crime score. This
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
16
step required either locating the census tract number(s) affiliated
with the reporting district, or gathering the boundaries of the
reporting district. If the census tract num ber was unavailable, two
reporters used the preceding boundary information and located the
reporting district in the 1992 Thomas Brother Guide Census Tract
Map (1991). The census tract num ber or numbers, incorporated
within the aforem entioned boundaries, were recorded for the
corresponding family.
After all subjects were assigned a census tract num ber, the
num bers were entered into the com puter (census tract CD ROM), and
the population and area (km2) were located for each family. Both
the population and area were obtained to eventually establish a
crime by population rate. Although the data were obtained from
1989-1991, the 1990 population size and area were used because
the census CD ROM reported information for 1990 only. Researchers
have determ ined the census tract boundaries (including the
population and area) are usually consistent from year to year
(Zuravin& Taylor, 1987).
Community Violence. The rate of comm unity violence in each
family's neighborhood was also derived from crime statistics based
on the local police departm ents reporting districts. Data were
obtained on the neighborhood crime reporting form in all categories
and were recorded for every subject (NCRF; see Appendix B). An
im portant note is that the crimes indicated are not convictions, but
are reported crimes regardless of the final judicial outcome.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
17
Crimes w ere categorized as either crim es against the person or
crim es against property according to the Uniform Crime Reports
Index, an established system of crim e categorizaton(UCR, 1992, see
A ppendix D ). The high correlation between crim e against the person
and crim e against p roperty (r=.7, pc.O l), led to the sum m ation of
these two subscales to create an overall crim e score (crime). This
crim e score was then m ultiplied by the corresponding reporting
district population (determ ined through census RD ROM) an d the
quotient was divided by 1,000, yielding a crim e p er 1,000 person
score.
Group Assignm ent
C hildren were assigned to high violent/low violent groups in the
following m anner. The m edian split (2.0) was used to determ ine the
cutoff betw een low a n d high. First, if a child's parents received a
score o f 2 o r g reater on the total m arital violence scale (described
above) then he o r she was assigned to the high m arital violence
(HMV). If a child's parents received a score of 1 o r less on the total
m arital violence scale then he o r she was assigned to the low m arital
violence (LMV). The total m arital violence scale was a pre designed
scale by senior experim enters.
Second, a child w hose com m unity violence score (described
above) was greater th an 72 crim es p e r 1,000 people was assigned to
the high com m unity violence category (HCV), while a score o f 71 o r
less was assigned to the low com m unity violence (LCV). 72 crim es
p er 1,000 people is the sum total of crim es against the person or
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
18
property reported by Los Angeles County to the federal governm ent
in 1990 as the city's crime rate. Los Angeles County had one of the
highest crime rates in the United States for that year. Not
surprisingly, the crim e rates across the country are highest in the
nation's cities. Collectively, these cities reported 65 crim es per 1,000
people. Meanwhile, the suburban and rural counties were
significantly lower at 53 and 20 crimes per 1,000 people
respectively.
Therefore, four groups were established: the high com m unity
violence/high m arital violence, the high com m unity violence/low
m arital violence, the low crim e/high m arital violence, and the low
com m unity violence/m arital violence.
The sub-groups of girls and boys did not significantly differ on
the dem ographic characteristics except for the age of the girls'
fathers (see Table 3). An analysis of variance indicate a significant
difference among the sub-groups of girls on father’s age, F (3,62)
=3.57, pc.05 . Chi-square tests indicate no significant differences
between the different groups for boys and girls on ethnicity as
shown in Tables 3 & 4.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
19
Table 3
Means and Standard Deviations for Proportions) of
Demographic Characteristics for the Four Sub-Groups o f Girls
Domain/Measures
HC/HMa
M SD
HC/LMb
M SD
LC/HMC
M SD
LC/LMd
M SD
F/X2
(3,62)
Child Age 10.01 1.14 10.20 1.27 9.64 1.03 10.16 1.10 n.s.
Child Grade Level 4.38 1.20 4.57 1.51 4.21 1.36 4.50 1.16 n.s.
WISC-R
Information Scale Scord.0.00 2.78 11.36 3.34 11.16 2.29 10.69 2.27 n.s.
Block Design Scale Score9.19 3.21 11.86 2.66 10.77 4.13 9.81 3.17 n.s.
Ethnicity (%)
Caucasian 25.0 42.9
__
52.6 625
n.s.
African-Am erican 56.3
—
28.6 -- 26.3 — 125 —
Latino 6.3 — ■ - — - —
6.3
—
Biracial/Other 12.5
—
28.6 21.1 --
18.8
—
Wife Age 34.75 6.40 39.36 5.31 35.63 4.74 37.19 3.83 n.s.
Husband Age 3638 7.23 41.21 6.17 36.89 4.24 41.00 5.06 357*
Wife Education 13.56 1.79 15.21 2.49 14.26 2.16 14.19 2.04 n.s.
Husband Education
14.25 235 15.93 2.59 14.95 3.03 14.81 2.48 n.s.
Monthly Gross Income 3266 770.8 3833 700.03 4000 555.3 4500 895.5 n.s.
Note. WISC-R= Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised;
Monthly gross income is reported by median and standard error.
a High Crime/High Marriage (n=16);b High Crime/Low Marriage
(n=14);
c Low Crime/High Marriage (n=20);d Low Crime/Low Marriage
(n=16).
*£<05.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
20
Table 4
Means and Standard Deviations for Proportions) of
Demographic Characteristics for the Four Sub-Groups of Bovs
HC/HMa HC/LMb LC/HMC LC/LMh F/X2
Domain/Measures M SD M SD ' M SD M SD (3,58)
Child Age 9.49 1.09 10.19 1.30 1031 1.16 10.06 1.14 n.s.
Child Grade Level 4.12 1.05 4.67 1.50 4.61 1.26 4.37 1.54 n.s.
WISC-R
Information Scale Score 10.78 4.07 10.42 3.45 12.46 3.15 11.58 2.43 n.s.
Block Design Scale Score 11.39 4.83 1233 3.26 12.54 2.76 11.21 4.25 n.s.
Ethnicity (%) n.s.
Caucasian 33.3
—
50.0
—
46.2 — 52.6
- -
African-American 55.6 — 25.0 — 23.1 — 21.1 —
Latino 5.6 — 8.3 — — —
5.3
Biracial/Other 5.6 — 16.7
—
30.8
— 21.1 —
Wife Age 36.44 4.88 40.33 6.34 39.69 5.75 38.68 5.34 n.s.
Husband Age 38.39 6.41 43.25 10.22 42.15 5.73 39.79 5.62 n.s.
Wife Education 13.44 1.65 14.67 2.15 14.23 2.42 14.42 2.24 n.s.
Husband Education
13.61 1.91 14.67 2.54 14.77 2.52 14.95 237 n.s.
Monthly Gross Income 3433 344.3 4150 1159.6 5000 833.0 4500 517.8 n.s.
Note. WISC-R= Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children Revised;
Monthly gross income is reported by median and standard error.
a High Crime/High Marriage (n=18);b High Crime/Low Marriage
< .05 measures. This result showed th at girls who are living in
com m unities with a high level of violence may be more depressed
than girls who live in a com m unity with a low level of violence.
Additionally, girls who live in com m unities with a high level of
violence exhibited higher levels of anxious behaviors than girls who
live in a com m unities with a low level of violence.
The fourth prediction of the study was that an interaction would
exist between m arital violence and com m unity violence, th at is, a
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
29
child who was exposed to these two risk factors would have a higher
degree of childhood behavioral problem s than a child who was
exposed to either risk factor alone.
As predicted, the MANOVA indicated a significant m ultivariate
Community Violence x Marital Violence interaction effect,
F(6,56)=2.26, p=.05, using Wilk's lambda. Univariate analyses of the
Community Violence x Marital Violence interaction shows th at
depression, F (1,61) = 4.76, p<.05; internalizing, F (1,61) = 6.49, p<05;
and externalizing, F (l,6 1 ) = i0.81, £><.01, were associated with
significant effects.
Yuen’s test was used to examine a planned com parison between
high com m unity violence/high m arital violence girls versus low
com m unity violence/low m arital violence girls. Yuen's procedure
uses trim m ed m eans and has been noted as the best procedure for
com paring two groups in term s of probability coverage and
controlling the probability of a Type I erro r (Wilcox, in press).
Figures 1-3 display the trim m ed m eans for the behaviors that
differed significantly between the high com m unity violence/high
m arital violence girls and the low com m unity violence/low m arital
violence girls (see Table 7 & 8 & Figures 1-3).
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
30
Table 7. Means and (Standard Deviations)of Four Subgroups of Girls Classified
According to Level of Violence in the Community and Level of Marital
Violence on Measures of Child Depression, Anxiety, Internalizing and
Externalizing Functioning, Hostility, and Aggression.
Childhood Behavioral
Problem
High
Community
V iolence/
High
Marital
V iolence
(n=16)
High
Community
V iolen ce/
Low
Marital
V iolence
(n=14)
Low
Community
V iolence/
High
Marital
V iolence
(n=20)
Low
Community
V iolence/
Low
Marital
V iolence
(:n=16)
Child Depression 32.19 33.00 31.40 28.37
(4.31) (3.84) (4.66) (1.99)
Spielberger Anxiety 37.31 35.50 35.00 32.00
(5.03) (4.55) (7.29) (5.06)
Internalizing Behavior 54.09 55.50 57.60 48.18
(8.57) (11.04) (9.40) (4.98)
Externalizing Behavior 53.78 54.64 57.95 46.16
(7.61) (9.84) (9.64) (4.55)
Child Hostility 4.81 5.21 4.95 4.62
(2.37) (1.81)
(2.16) (2.16)
Child Aggression 6.75 9.00 8.30 8.06
(3.09) (2.35) (2.72) (2.70)
Note.
ahigh level of community violence and high level of marital violence; b h ig h
level of community violence and low level of marital violence; c low level of
community violence and high level of marital violence; ^ low level of
community violence and low level of marital violence in the marriage.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
31
Table 8. Yuen Test Statistics and .95 Confidence Limits of Two Subgroups of
Girls Classified According to Level of Community Violence and Level
of Marital Violence on Measures of Child Depression, Anxiety,
Externalizing Functioning
Childhood Behavioral Yuen Test Statistic 95% Confidence Limits
Problem
Child Depression 3.74a 3.80,13.79
Spielberger Anxiety 2.48b .832, 9.97
Externalizing Behavior 2.43b .383,6.02
Note.
a p=.0005;b p=.01
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
32
Figure 1. Mean depression levels as a function o f level o f com m unity violence
and m arital violence.
■
High-Community.- ■
ViolenceiHigh
Marital Violence
| Low Community
— Violence/Low
Marital Violence
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
33
Figure 2. Mean anxiety levels as a function o f level o f com m unity violence
and m arital violence.
Hinh Community,
Violence/High
Marital Violence
Ltiw Community
JJiwlence/Low
Marital Violence
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
3 4
Figure 3. Mean externalizing t-score levels as a function o f level o f
com m unity violen ce and m arital violence.
High Community
Violence/High
Marital Violence
Low Community
"Violence/Low
Marital Violence
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
35
Overall, there was a general tendency on all but one outcome
measure (aggression) for girls who lived in high violent
communities/high marital violence to have higher childhood
behavior problem scores than girls who lived in low violent
communities/low marital violence.
CHAPTER IV
Discussion
The current study examined the effects of marital violence and
community violence on children’s behavior. Data from the current
study indicates children who live in environments with high levels of
community and marital violence do not differ from children whose
parents' display either a high level of marital violence or children
who live in a community with a high level of violence.
Unexpectedly, a child's assignment to the high/high level of violence
group was not the determining factor for the highest levels of
behavioral problems.
First, a relationship between marital violence and community
violence was not confirmed by the results. Possibly the level of
community violence and marital violence are not significantly
correlated because each is influenced by distinct factors. For
example, the aggregation of numerous families, businesses, political
influences and police enforcement influence the level of violence in a
community (Zuravin, 1987). Alternatively, marital violence is
influenced by familial stressors, status of the marital relationship,
and past aggression in the home (Jouriles et al., 1987).
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
36
The marital relationship and the community may influence each
other through mediating variables not addressed in the present
study. For example, a lack of community resources (e.g., no child
care centers) may result in an increase level of stress on the
marriage (identifying a sitter), thus putting pressure on the marital
relationship leading to potential violence.
Income has been linked to community violence and marital
violence, however, in this study income was not correlated to either
marital violence or community violence. The lack of variability in
the sample may account for this finding. In many studies, the
poverty level of $13,000 for a family of four is linked to violence
(Statistical Abstract, 1993). However, in the present study, over
84% of the sample reported an annual gross income of over $21,000.
The second hypothesis addressed parents' who displayed high
levels of marital violence. The current results are inconsistent with
previous literature that indicates an association between boys'
problem behaviors and marital violence. Perhaps the parents' of
boys under report their sons' behavior, since the socially acceptable
outlet of boys expressing their emotions is external behavior.
Therefore, parents may be less inclined to notice their boys' acting
out.
Concerning community violence, the overall results were not
significant. However, the two significant univariates are consistent
with the community violence literature showing that girls who are
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
37
living in neighborhoods with high violence tend to have higher levels
of depression and anxiety than girls living in neighborhoods with low
violence (Garbarino et al., 1989). Since boys and girls are socialized
differently, perhaps boys are more desensitized to marital and
community violence than girls, thus leading to less visible
problematic behavior.
The fourth question, which addressed the interaction that exists
between marital violence and community violence, indicates that
girls who lived in environm ents with high com m unity violence and
high m arital violence had higher levels of depression, anxiety, and
externalizing behaviors than girls who lived in environm ents with
low community violence/low marital violence.
Contrary to the hypothesis that girls who lived with both risk
factors would differ from girls with one or no risk factors, the results
showed little consistent difference among girls with either one or two
risk factors (I.e. community a n d /o r m arital violence). As anticipated,
the girls in the high com m unity/high m arital group expressed more
depression, anxiety, and externalizing problems than girls in the low
com munity/low marital group. This finding indicates that any
presence of violence, despite its form, is potentially harmful to a girl.
These results are consistent with reported individual responses to
violent events (Garbarino et al., 1992)
Possible problems in the present study include the m easurem ent
of protective factors and the conceptualization of exposure. Garmezy
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
38
et al. (1985) have proposed a protective model that suggests that
protective factors ( e.g., increasing coping skills o r social support)
may buffer a child from the negative effects of violence exposure
that h e/sh e may experience (Garbarino et al., 1992; Garmezy et
al,1985; Osofsky et al.,1993; Rae-Grant et al., 1989). The degree of
social support o r num ber of protective factors (or buffering
variables) th at a child has in the m arriage a n d /o r com m unity was
not m easured in the current study.
Additionally, some potential buffering variables were already
em bedded in the sample. For example, all the children lived in a two
parent household, which is considered m ore stable than a one parent
home. Furtherm ore, a m ajority of the families had m oderate income
levels.
Exposure to conflict is im portant in the developm ent of childhood
behavioral problem s and has been found to be directly related to the
type an d extent of behavior problem s th at a child may exhibit
(Osofsky et al.,1993; Fincham & Osborne, 1993; Garbarino et al., 1992;
H ershom & Rosenbaum, 1985). Since, the current study was
interested in com m unity and m arital violence as background anger,
the degree to which a child witnessed or was exposed to violence in
the neighborhood or home was not m easured. Perhaps for boys, the
elem ent of witnessing o r direct exposure to violence is a necessary
com ponent of violence exposure for their m anifestation of behavioral
problems. This may help explain the lack of findings for boys.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
39
The interpretation of results was also lim ited by the small sam ple
size, as well as lim itations with the m easurem ent of com m unity and
m arital violence. The degree of violence in a com m unity is not 100%
accurate because m any crim es go unreported. Therefore, some
com m unities m ay not have had less crim e just less reported crimes.
M oreover, som e families m ight not identify the census tract
boundaries as the boundaries of th eir neighborhood. Therefore,
there is no indication th at the family w ould consider the violence in
th eir reporting district representative of th e violence in their
neighborhood. Additionally, the degree o f severity and the
subjective im pact o f m arital violence on the couple was not
m easured in this study.
Im plications
The results of this study suggest th at living in a violent
com m unity and in a violent family may be m ore im portant in
understanding behavioral problem s am ong females than am ong
males from m ore stable (tw o-parent home) an d higher income
homes. Further, the presence of com bined violence appears
sufficient to increase a girl's vulnerability to behavioral problem s,
thus exposure o r w itnessing m ay be a m oderating variable between
the relationship o f violence and problem behavior for a girl; while
exposure o r w itnessing m ay be a m ediating variable for a boy.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
40
Clearly, the need to further explore how the presence of violence
within these family and community environments and how they
affect the psychological development of the child warrants further
investigation. Future studies should take into account the
measurement limitations previously mentioned. Specifically, future
studies should employ a true random sample, a larger sample size,
and a refinement of measures on the independent variables.
The interaction between crime and marriage is extremely
complex and future studies might consider comparing children who
directly witness violence in their homes and communities with
children who live in similar environments but have not been direct
witnesses or victims of violence. Researchers may be able to further
pinpoint what effects are similar to and different from these two
types of violence exposure and their link to behavioral problems.
Research is warranted which investigates the characteristics that
differentiate one community from another, and which possibly
identifies some of the protective factors in the marriage or
community that contribute to a child's healthy psychological
development.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
41
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Violence in the American family. New York: Anchor/Doubleday.
The Thomas Guide: 1992 LA/Orange Counties Census Tract Edition.
(1991). Los Angeles: Thomas Brothers Maps.
Uniform Crime Reports for the United States. (1992). Published by
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. D epartm ent of Justice.
Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
47
Wechsler, D. (1974). Manual for the W echsler intelligence scale for
children-revised. NY: Psychological Corporation.
Wilcox, R. (in press). Statistics for the Social Sciences. Academic
Press.
Zuravin, S. (1989). The ecology of child abuse and neglect: Review
o f the literature and presentation of data. Violence and Victims.
4 (2), 101-120.
Zuravin, S. J., & Taylor, R. (1987). The ecology of child m altreatm ent:
Identifying and characterizing high-risk neighborhoods. Child
W elfare League of America, 66 (6), 497-506.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
48
APPENDIX A:
APPENDIX B :
APPENDIX C:
APPENDIX D:
APPENDICES
Final Sample v.s.. Original Sample
Neighborhood Crime Recording Form
Domestic Conflict Index Scales
Definitions of UCR Crimes Against the
Person And Property
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
49
Appendix A
Means and Standard Deviations (or Proportions) of Demographic
Characteristics for Total Samplea and Final Sample* 3
Total Sam de Final Sam de
Domain/Measures M SD M SD
Child Age 9.99 1.14 10.03 1.13
Child Grade Level 4.32 1.30 4.40 1.30
WISC-R Information Scale Score 11.36 3.01 11.07 2.99
WISC-R Block Design Scale Score 11.32 3.70 11.11 3.80
Ethnicity (%)
Caucasian 53.0 - 46.1 -
African-American 27.1
- 31.3 -
Latino 2.8
-
3.9
-
Biraciai/Other 16.6
- 18.8
-
Wife Age 37.39 5.37 37.58 5.48
Husband Age 39.79 6.17 39.64 6.56
Wife Education 14.37 2.13 14.19 2.12
Husband Education 14.85 2.54 14.73 2.49
Monthly Gross Income 4280 195.32 4000 248.29
Note. Monthly gross income is reported by median and standard
error.
a n=181.b n=128.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
5 0
APPENDIX B : NEIGHBORHOOD CRIME REPORTING FORM
FAM
ID
RD # QUART
ER
BURG
LARY
GRAND
THEFT
LARGE
■ N Y ? : ’
THEFT
VAND
ALISM
OTHER PROP.
TOTAL
K -
1 " ''
MURD
ER
RAPE ROBS: ASSUA
l t >
AGGRA
VATED
ASSA
ULT
PERS
TQTAI
..-■ j':■■■.t
t
NARC VICE, DRUNK JUV.
DEL.
.V s> ' ' •
f j; • • • ......
' *
* -
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
51
APPENDIX C: DOMESTIC CONFLICT INDEX SCALES
Destroy Posession Scale: #3,5,15
Cruelty Scale: #14,17,27,39,40,43,50,51
Physical Aggression Scale:# 35,36,37,38,41,42,44,45, 46,47,48,49
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
52
APPENDIX D: DEFINITIONS OF UCR CRIMES AGAINST THE
PERSON AND PROPERTY
UCR: CRIME I OFFENSES
CATEGORY I: CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON
These are defined as any crime in which there is a potential for
physical violence to occur. This category also includes any crime
which resulted in physical violence.
SUB-CATEGORY:
*1. MURDER: Causing the death of another person w ithout legal
justification o r excuse.
*2. RAPE: Unlawful sexual intercourse with a person, who is not the
spouse, by force or without legal or factual consent.
*3. ROBBERY : The unlawful taking or attem pted taking of property
th at is in the immediate possession of another, by force or threat of
force.
*4. ASSAULT: Unlawful intentional inflicting of bodily injury or
unlawful threat or attem pt to inflict bodily injury with or w ithout
actual infliction of injury.
*5. AGGRAVATED ASSAULT: Unlawful intentional inflicting of
bodily injury or unlawful threat o r attem pt to inflict bodily injury or
death by means of a deadly or dangerous weapon with or without
actual infliction of injury.
CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
53
APPENDIX D: DEFINITIONS OF UCR CRIMES AGAINST THE
PERSON AND PROPERTY CONTINUED
UCR: CRIME 2 OFFENSES
CATEGORY 2: CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY
These are defined as any crim e in w hich there is taking o f a
possession w ithout physical violence.
SUB-CATEGORY:
*1. BURGLARY BUSINESS: The unlawful en try o f any fixed
structure o r vessel used for regular business, o r industry w ith o r
w ithout force, with the in ten t to com m it a felony o r larceny.
2. BIKE THEFT: The unlaw ful taking o r attem pted taking of
anther's bicycle.
3. GRAND THEFT AUTO: The unlawful taking or attem pted taking
of a self-propelled road vehicle ow ned by another, with the intent of
depriving him o r h e r of it, perm anently o r tem porarily.
4. LARCENY THEFT: The unlawful taking o r attem pted taking of
any property th at is valued at m ore th an $400 an d does not fit into
any o ther category.
5. OTHER: The unlawful taking o r attem pted taking of pro p erty th at
does not fit into one of the above categories.
* Report to the Nation on Crime an d Justice, Second Edition (March,
1988), U.S. D epartm ent o f Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
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Creator Henry, Lisa Michelle (author)

Core Title Violent environments and their effects on children

School Graduate School

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Clinical Psychology

Degree Conferral Date 1995-05

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest,psychology, developmental,psychology, social,sociology, individual and family studies

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Margolin, Gayla (committee chair), Gatz, Margaret (committee member), Wilcox, Rand R. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-1658

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