| NEWS RELEASE: | |
|
EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE IN ADOLESCENTS: VICTIMS, OBSERVERS AND THE BIOLOGICAL LINKS | |
| Contact: Rama Murali Phone: 604-822-5463 Email: rama@psych.ubc.ca Embargoed until: March 6, 2004 |
|
|
Being exposed to violent events early in life is linked with alterations in cardiovascular and stress hormone resting levels and cardiovascular response levels in adolescents. These are the findings of a study by Rama Murali, B.A. and Edith Chen, Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia. The results reveal that adolescents exposed to violent events exhibit elevated biological resting cardiovascular and stress hormone levels, and that these adolescents also have blunted cardiovascular responses to new stresses. The results of this study were presented at the American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting, held in Orlando, FL. One hundred and fifteen adolescents, ages 16-19, from St. Louis, MO, responded to a detailed interview on exposure to violence. They also performed 2 tasks commonly used in psychological research to simulate a stressful situation in the laboratory: a mental puzzle and a debate with the experimenter. Cardiovascular measurements (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, heart rate) were measured at rest and during the tasks to assess responses to new stresses. Also, a hormone linked with stress - cortisol - was measured. This study also investigated several dimensions of violence exposure to determine which have the strongest associations with biological levels. The researchers found that frequently being the victim of violent events had more pervasive biological associations than observing violent events. In addition, those who were more frequently victims of violence had the highest resting cardiovascular and cortisol levels, and smallest cardiovascular response to new stressors. In contrast, other aspects of exposure to violence, such as how severe the event was, were not associated with biological measures as consistently. Although it is premature to conclude that being the victim of violence causes alterations in biological measures in adolescents, this new research suggests that the effects of exposure to violence among adolescents is not limited to psychological distress. Exposure to violence is also linked to biological profiles, and adolescents who are the victims of violence may benefit from interventions that also include a focus on biological outcomes, particularly for those who have repeatedly experienced violence. | |
|
Psychosomatic Medicine is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Psychosomatic Society, published bimonthly. For information about the journal, contact Vicki White, Managing Editor for Manuscript Production,
|