Exposure to Community Violence and Parenting Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review

This meta-analysis examines the association between exposure to community violence and parenting behaviors (i.e., positive parenting, harsh/neglectful parenting, parent-child relationship quality, and behavior control). A systematic search yielded 437 articles that measured community violence exposure before or at the time of parenting, assessed parenting, and were available in English. There were 342 effect sizes across parenting constructs: positive (k = 101; 68 studies), harsh/neglectful (k = 95; 60 studies), relationship quality (k = 68; 41 studies), and behavior control (k = 78; 51 studies), from 160 reports representing 147 distinct studies. Results of the three-level meta-analyses found small but significant effects between community violence and positive parenting (r = -.059, 95% CI [-.086, -.032]; 95% PI [-.268, .151]), harsh/neglectful parenting (r = .133, 95% CI [.100, .166]; 95% PI [-.107, .372]), parent-child relationship quality (r = -.106, 95% CI [-.145, -.067]; 95% PI [-.394, .182]), and behavior control (r = -.047, 95% CI [-.089, -.005]; 95% PI [-.331, .237]). The association between exposure to community violence and harsh/neglectful parenting and behavior control was moderated by the type of exposure to community violence, informant or source of community violence and parenting data, child age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Given the substantial degree of heterogeneity in overall effect sizes, implications for policy and intervention are tentatively considered while emphasizing that more empirical research on the association between community violence and parenting is essential for advancing the field.