Exposure to community violence is another aspect of the social context that is not sufficiently integrated into studies of health. A recent study of women in an urban community in the northeastern U.S. illustrates the importance of this risk factor.96 It found that exposure to community violence was high with 67% of the sample reporting at least one event. These exposures were consequential, with the risk of depressive and anxiety symptoms being twice as high for women who witnessed neighborhood violence. Other data reveal that neighborhood violence is one of the major chronic stressors that predicts the risk of childhood asthma and that can also interact with physical and chemical exposures to increase asthma risk.97
