Methods:    Thirty African-American children, 6 through 12 years of age, whose parents had been a victim of community violence (i.e., gunshot or stabbing) and a comparision group of 30 children matched on variables of race, age, gender, and neighborhood serve as the sample for this study. Parents completed a demographic sheet and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Data was collected within 6-weeks of parental victimization.

Results:    Utilizing SPSS to conduct ANOVA and t-tests analyses found children in the experimental group were experiencing symptoms in the borderline clinical range, while children in the comparison group fell below this range. In regard to gender and age specific differences no significant difference in male and female youth’s internalizing and externalizing behavior at age 6-8 in either the control or experimental groups was found.  In other words, male and female youth in early childhood engage in both internalizing and externalizing behavior.  However, beginning at age nine there was a significant difference in behavior.  Youth exposed to parental victimization internalized and externalized to a greater degree, according to caregiver report, than those children who were not exposed.  Specifically, in the experimental group, males externalized more than females and females internalized more than males.  In the control group, there was no significant difference in the internalizing and externalizing behavior of the male and female youth. Thus, the perceived trauma response may vary as a function of the child’s gender and developmental level or age.

Implications for practice:  These findings suggest that gender specific response related to trauma exposure may begin as early as age 9. Such knowledge has implications for practice as gender specific assessment and intervention approaches must be utilized at younger ages then previously presumed.