The Dynamic Relationship between Community Violence and Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Disabilities in the United States

Introduction: Youth with mental health disorders and disabilities—referred to hereafter as emotional and behavioral disorders and disabilities (EBD)—may be especially vulnerable to exposure to adverse environmental factors, such as community violence exposure (CVE). Similarly, exposure to adverse childhood experiences, such as CVE, is associated with a myriad of negative health outcomes. While CVE and EBD may emerge through distinct pathways, they share numerous risk factors, suggesting overlapping risks that can contribute to the cumulative adversity experienced by some youth. However, there remains a dearth of literature examining the potentially bidirectional relationship between CVE and EBD. This scoping review seeks to identify and synthesize the existing literature exploring the association between these two constructs. Exploring this dynamic is essential to informing the development of effective prevention and intervention strategies at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels across youth-serving systems, including the healthcare and education systems.

Methods: Following the protocol set forth by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), a systematic search of the literature examining the relationship between EBD and community violence exposure in youth in the US was conducted across four social science and education databases in January 2025. The lead author and a second screener screened all articles using inclusion and exclusion criteria once deduplicated in two stages: title and abstract screening followed by a full-text review to determine the final selection of articles for inclusion. Data extraction was performed using a standardized template developed by the lead author.

Results: Of the 63,626 articles identified for the title and abstract screen, 606 underwent full-text review, and 35 peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria for this scoping review. All studies were published between 1998 and 2024 and most (60%) employed a cross-sectional design, while the remaining were of longitudinal design (40%). There was heterogeneity present across how each article operationalized both CVE and EBD, highlighting a lack of ontological clarity in this field. Despite the variation in operationalization of the two key constructs, an overwhelming majority of the studies found direct associations between types of EBD (e.g., anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, etc) and types of CVE (e.g., indirect and direct). Several studies identified relational (e.g., familial and peer support) and individual factors (e.g., executive functioning and psychosocial maturity) that attenuated the association between CVE and EBD.

Conclusions and Implications: This scoping review underscores a strong association between community violence exposure (CVE) and emotional and behavioral disorders and disabilities (EBD) among youth in the United States. Despite variability in how these constructs are defined, the consistency of findings highlights a critical area for intervention. Social workers can leverage these insights across research, policy, and practice areas to both mitigate the association of CVE on youth with EBD and prevent exposure among those with EBD. Future research should clarify the directionality of this relationship and examine the social and structural disparities that shape it, to better inform equitable and effective intervention strategies to improve outcomes for youth.