NEIGHBORHOOD HOMICIDES PRODUCE LOWER TEST SCORES IN STUDENTS

The Sentencing Project

A new study by Patrick Sharkey, a sociologist at New York University, analyzed 6,041 Chicago homicides and found that African-American children score lower on reading and vocabulary tests within a week of a homicide in their neighborhood compared to tests a month before or after a homicide. The results add a new area of support to the evidence that children are negatively impacted when they live in close proximity to extremely violent events.

Not surprisingly, the study illustrates that exposure to local homicides varies substantially by race and ethnicity: exposure to a local homicide is much less likely to be experienced by Hispanic students and is extremely rare among whites. Sharkey draws on prior research that shows that violence weighs on the minds of children and leads to reductions in cognitive performance. According to the data used in the study, about 15% of the African-American children in the study spend at least one month out of a year functioning at a low level because of exposure to a local homicide. 

Sharkey, Patrick.  2010. "The Acute Effect of Local Homicides on Children's Cognitive Performance."  Proceedings of the National Academy of Science Early Edition.