Relation between Community Violence Exposure and Mental Health Problems among Male Adolescents in Alexandria

Adolescents’ exposure to community violence as witnesses or victims is a significantpublic health problem with negative consequences for several aspects of their adjustment.Objective: Identify the relation between community violence exposure and mental healthproblems among male adolescents. Setting: The study was conducted in three governmentalmale secondary schools in Alexandria namely:-Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Moharem Bek and RasEl-Teen. Subjects: 400 baccalaureate nursing students. Tools: Three tools were used for datacollection. A Students’ Basic Data Structured Interview Schedule, Recent Exposure toViolence Scale (REVS) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results:Findings of the present study revealed that slightly less than two thirds (62.84%) of thestudents were exposed to community violence. All the exposed students were witnessingindirect violence while, 97.39% of them were victims to direct violence during the last year.Statistically significant relation observed between students violence exposure and each ofemotional symptoms (x2=26.75, p=0.000), conduct problems (x2=15.47, p=0.000),hyperactivity and inattention (x2=2.29, p=0.003), peer relation problems (x2=51.51,p=0.000) and prosocial behaviour (x2=27.29, p=0.001). Conclusion: Community violenceexposure is a prevalent problem that plays a significant role in the occurrence of mentalhealth problems among male adolescents. Recommendations: Development of positivecoping skills, competencies and problem solving skills that will help young people dealeffectively with high levels of exposure to violence. Trained mental health professionals inschools to identify youth in need of additional services.