Heterogeneous Effects of Environmental Exposure to Gun Violence on Adolescent Problem Behavior

Mounting evidence suggests that gun violence occurring within a community can affect community members even when they do not experience it firsthand. Building on this expanded view of exposure, the present study examined the effects of environmental exposure to gun violence—that is, living or attending school within 1,300 m of a past-year firearm homicide occurrence—on adolescents’ problem behaviors (delinquent, externalizing, and internalizing behaviors) using data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study merged with information on firearm homicide incidents from the Gun Violence Archive (N = 3,086; girls: N = 1,504; Black/white/Latinx/other: N = 525/1,547/773/241). Employing propensity score matching methods, we estimated the average effects of environmental gun violence exposure on adolescents’ problem behaviors and assessed heterogeneity in these effects across subgroups of youth with different exposure probabilities (low, moderate, and high). While average effects were not observed, environmental gun violence exposure was associated with increased delinquent (but not externalizing) behavior among adolescents, particularly girls, with low risk of exposure and decreased internalizing behavior among adolescents with low and moderate risk of exposure. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the differential impacts of gun violence exposure across subgroups with varying pre-exposure risks. Adolescents at relatively low risk of exposure may benefit from supportive services to address behavior problems in the aftermath of gun violence; though, resources for adolescents with elevated pre-exposure risks remain vital for redressing broader inequities that contribute to gun violence in the first place.