Poster #12
Adolescent Development in the Face of Violence
By: Emma Jagasia and India Bloom
Abstract:
Exposure to violence has severe and lasting effects on development. Despite the substantial body of research examining childhood exposures to violence and victimization, dimensional outcomes for early adolescents is poorly understood. This presentation will highlight findings from an integrated review. The objective of this integrated review was to examine the effects of violence exposure on early adolescent development and highlight gaps for future research. Eligibility was based on violence exposure related to observing community violence, witnessing domestic violence and/or being the victim of chronic physical abuse, and the focus population being between 9-14 years of age. A total of 18 peer reviewed articles from the past eleven years (2010-2021) were included. Four developmental domains were identified to be effective by violence exposure for early adolescence: behavioral, biological, neurological, and social development. Behaviorally, violence exposure posed significant effects on both internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Biologically, violence exposure was strongly associated with advance epigenetic age, accelerated puberty, and insomnia Neurologically, violence exposure had significant associations with both structural and functional difference in the developing brain. Socially, violence exposure was related to poor school engagement and low social support. This integrative review highlighted the varying effects violence exposure has on early adolescent development. Findings from this review have research, clinical, and policy implications. To ensure successful transitions into adulthood, the gaps presented in this review should be addressed and implemented into clinical practice and guidelines.
Biography:
Emma Jagasia, MSN, MPH, RN is a dual degree DNP, PhD trauma and violence predoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, supported by a T32 from the National Institute of Child Health and Development under PI Dr. Jacquelyn Campbell. Her research focuses on the associations between violence exposure and neurobehavioral development during early adolescence and the moderating role of resilience through use of neuroimaging and mixed methods. Her broad research interests focus on the transition into adulthood for children, effective treatment modalities for psychopathology, and interdisciplinary approaches to better understand trajectories of neurodevelopment and mental health. She is a pediatric critical care nurse by training, and actively practices as a community health nurse working with survivors of domestic violence and their children, which directly informs all scientific inquiry. She is committed to working alongside youth in Baltimore City to address health inequities experienced by Brown and Black youth. She earned her MSN, MPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a BSN from the University of South Florida.