Johns Hopkins Children's Center Opens New Office to Counter

Tuesday, March 10, 1998

Contact:
Wendy Mullins
(410) 223-1741

Johns Hopkins Children's Center Opens New Office to Counter
Epidemic Rate of Children's Exposure to Violence

Alarmed by the epidemic rate at which children are being exposed to violence - on the streets, in their communities, and through the media - the Johns Hopkins Children's Center has opened an Office for the Prevention of Violence to address the needs of traumatized children and to draw attention to a rapidly escalating public health threat.

The office's mission is to counter the high levels of violence in the everyday lives of children and adolescents and to offer referral services for traumatized children, identified by the police, emergency room physicians, schools, or community groups. In addition, its physicians and researchers will work with public schools and existing local, national, and international coalitions to help parents and the public understand that the violent content of the general media presents a significant health risk for children.

"Research shows conclusively that acute and chronic exposure to elevated levels of violence, regardless of its source, has a devastating psychological effect on children," says the new office's director, Paramjit Joshi, M.D., director of clinical services in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, and a renowned expert in treating traumatized children and those who suffer from depression.

Joshi compares the passive activity of absorbing violent images on a TV or movie screen to inhaling second hand smoke: "The associated trauma rivals that experienced in declared wars. Children who have witnessed or experienced violence need immediate adult intervention and empathy. The consequences of prolonged exposure to violence are long term for children. It is imperative that parents, educators, and professionals alike understand the negative impact of exposure to violence."

In 1997, Joshi published a study showing that nearly 10 percent of students at a large, Baltimore County high school received psychological help to deal with difficulties related to exposure to violence in one of the three major areas of their lives: the media, their homes and communities, and their school. A majority reported a higher degree of exposure to violence in the media than in the home. She has since conducted a similar study in Croatia to discover if such psychological reactions mirror those experienced in war-time situations. She works in collaboration with the Baltimore City Police Department, through its C.O.P.S. program, to identify and assist children who have experienced violence. The Eastern District Police C.O.P.S. program is a collaborative program of Johns Hopkins mental health clinicians and the Baltimore City Police Department.

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