Context, Exposure to Community Violence, and Mental Health Outcomes in Female College Students

Background: Recent tragedies related to violent acts on college campuses have created concern about the impact of violence on college students.  Adolescents who are exposed to violence are at an increased risk for psychopathology. This is a concern since mental health disorders during adolescence frequently become chronic and carry over into adulthood, decreasing productivity and impacting quality of life.  The Bioecological Model of Development provides a useful and comprehensive frame to view relevant variables, including exposure to community violence, that may moderate or impact mental health outcomes in adolescents.

Purpose: To describe the relationship between macrosystem (Exposure to Community Violence, Demographics, Socioeconomic Status), mesosystem (Social Network, Perceived Social Support), and microsystem (Mastery, Perceived Stress, Self Esteem) variables included in the Bioecological Model of Development and mental health outcomes (depressive symptoms) in female college students.

Design: Cross-section design with convenience sampling

Methods:  Female college students (n = 61) were recruited from an introductory course required of all freshmen during their first semester of college at a large urban university.    The interviews were conducted by research assistants at various college sites, based upon convenience of the adolescents, and each adolescent received a $15 Target gift certificate. 

On average, the sample was 18 years old (SD = 0.13), primarily Caucasian (80%), and middle class.

Findings: Thirty seven percent of female college student reported depressive symptoms (CES-D >/=16). Contrary to our expectations, micro system variables as opposed to exposure to community violence accounted for the highest percentage of variance in depressive symptoms.

Conclusions: College personnel, including student health services, should be aware to the high incidence of depressive symptoms in female adolescents and provide programs to strengthen the micro system of female college students.

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