Impact of exposure to community violence and psychological symptoms on college performance among students of color.

This study examined longitudinal relationships among exposure to chronic community violence during high school, psychological distress during the first semester of college, and academic performance during the first three semesters of college. The sample comprised 385 students of color in a large city. Exposure to community violence and psychological distress were measured with additive scales; academic performance (school persistence, grade point average) was obtained from transcripts. It was found that exposure to community violence and academic performance were not related; exposure to community violence and psychological distress were related; psychological distress and college persistence were related; and psychological distress and grade point average were not related. The findings are consistent with the causal chain model; specifically, that the effects of exposure to community violence in high school on academic performance in college are mediated by psychological distress.