October 5, 2009

Children's Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey

This bulletin, sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), discusses the National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), a nationwide survey of the incidence and prevalence of children's exposure to violence to date. It measured the past-year and lifetime exposure to violence for children age 17 and younger across several major categories: conventional crime, child maltreatment, victimization by peers and siblings, sexual victimization, witnessing and indirect victimization, school violence and threats, and Internet victimization. This survey is the first comprehensive attempt to measure children's exposure to violence in the home, school, and community across all age groups from birth to age 17.