Most violent youth begin to exhibit their violent behaviors during early adolescence. Bullying, which peaks in middle school, is a form of aggression in which a child repeatedly and intentionally intimidates, harasses, or physically harms another child. Technology-assisted bullying behavior or cyber-bullying has become a major concern. Psychosocial consequences of being bullied include depression and suicidal ideation. Children who bully others are more likely to be involved with other problem behaviors, such as smoking and alcohol use. Bullying and being bullied are both associated with higher rates of weapon carriage and fighting. Although most bullies
Exposure to TV violence Low IQ
Poor parent-child relations Antisocial parents Parents’ positive evaluation of peers
Abusive, neglectful Low SES/poverty
School Poor attitude Poor attitude Commitment to school
From National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Youth violence: a report of the surgeon general. Rockville, MD, 2001, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SES, Socioeconomic status. *Bold = factors with strongest effect.
†Males only.
do not progress into serious violent offenders, violent behavior that continues into high school years indicates the potential for severe violent behavior in adulthood. Another subset of violent youth begins at a very young age. These children tend to be more serious offenders, perpetrate more crimes, and more often continue their violence into adulthood. Most adolescent violence ends by young adulthood. Most violent youth are only intermittently violent. Frequent acts of violence are committed more commonly by youth who start their violence before the onset of puberty. These violent youth need to be evaluated for cognitive impairments or mental illness.
Serious youth violence is not an isolated problem but usually coexists with other adolescent risk-taking behaviors, such as drug use, truancy and school dropout, early sexual activity, and gun ownership. Risk factors for youth violence are slightly different for children who begin their violence early in life compared with youth who begin during adolescence. Often these risk factors exist in clusters, and they tend to be additive. Although understanding risk factors for violence is crucial for developing prevention strategies, the risk factors do not predict whether a particular individual will become violent. For children who begin their violence early in life, the strongest risk factors are early substance abuse (<12 years of age) and perpetration of nonviolent, serious crimes during childhood. Additional risk factors include poverty, male gender, and antisocial behavior. For children who begin their violence during adolescence, individual risk factors are less important, whereas factors related to peer groups are most important. Gang membership, associating with antisocial or delinquent friends, being unpopular in school, and having weak ties to conventional peer groups are important risk factors for adolescent-onset violence (Table 25-2). The strength of the listed risk factors is not uniform, and some factors show a small effect only. Table 25-2 also lists protective factors that seem to buffer the effects of risk factors. One important protective factor is the child’s level of school connectedness, such as involvement in class and extracurricular activities, and how positively the child regards the school’s personnel. Another protective factor is the support of nonviolent family members and close friends.
Violence prevention efforts that target risk and protective factors need to be developmentally appropriate. Education about the dangers of substance abuse should begin before the onset of puberty, whereas adolescent programs must consider the importance of peer group identification. Many violence prevention programs fail to show long-term effects. Effective violence prevention programs must address simultaneously individual, family, and environmental (school, peer group, social) risk factors; capitalize on the child’s strengths; involve family and other supports; and be implemented over an extended period.