What You Need to Know About Youth Violence Prevention

Pathways to Violence: What Do We Know?

The most important conclusion of the U.S. Surgeon General's report is that youth violence is a solvable problem.

What does the research tell us about youth violence?
What are the major trends in youth violence?
When does youth violence begin?
Why do young people become violent?
What risk factors are correlated with youth violence?
Can other factors lead to youth violence?
What factors protect against youth violence?
What role do culture, ethnicity, and race play in youth violence?
How does media violence affect youth violence?

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH TELL US ABOUT YOUTH VIOLENCE?

The U.S. Surgeon General's report states that the greatest need is for the Nation to "confront the problem of youth violence systematically, using research-based approaches, and to correct damaging myths and stereotypes."
The search for solutions to the issue of youth violence is challenging. Research conducted for the U.S. Surgeon General’s report using extremely high scientific standards found that nearly half of the most rigorously evaluated prevention strategies did not achieve their intended outcomes. Perhaps these programs did not work because of a flawed program strategy—or because of poor program implementation or a poor match between program and target population. The research also found that a few strategies actually were harmful to participants.
Many effective prevention and intervention programs are now in place, however. We have the tools and the understanding now to reduce, or even prevent, much of the most serious youth violence. We also have the tools to reduce less dangerous (but still serious) problem behaviors and to promote healthy development among young people.

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR TRENDS IN YOUTH VIOLENCE?

The Surgeon General’s report states that between 1983 and 1993, deadly violence involving guns rose to epidemic proportions. At the same time, the number of young people involved in other forms of serious violence rose slightly.
Since 1994, however, gun use and homicide arrests have dropped, and nonfatal serious violence has gone down. By 1999, arrest rates for violent crimes other than aggravated assault had dropped below 1983 levels, but arrest rates for aggravated assault remained almost 70 percent higher than in 1983.
Despite the current decline in gun use and lethal violence, the proportion of young people who report their involvement in nonfatal violence remains as high as in the peak years of the epidemic, as does the proportion of students injured with a weapon at school. The number of young people involved in gangs remains near the peak levels of 1996.
Young men—especially those from minority groups—are arrested disproportionately for violent crimes. But self-reports show that differences in violent behavior between minority and majority groups and between sexes may not be as great as arrest records indicate. Race or ethnicity by itself does not predict whether a child or adolescent is likely to engage in violence.
Schools around the country are relatively safe compared to homes and neighborhoods. Young people at greatest risk of being killed in school violence are from a racial or ethnic minority, senior high schools, and urban school districts.

WHEN DOES YOUTH VIOLENCE BEGIN?

Scientists have described two patterns for engagement in violence: early onset and late onset. These patterns help to predict the likely course, severity, and duration of violent behaviors over a person’s lifespan. In the early onset pattern, violence begins before adolescence; in the late onset pattern, violent behavior begins during adolescence. According to the Surgeon General’s report:

Most children with behavioral disorders do not become serious violent offenders.
Most highly aggressive children do not become serious violent offenders.
Most youth violence begins in adolescence but doesn’t continue into adulthood.
Young people who become violent before age 13 usually commit more crimes, and more serious crimes, for a longer time. Their pattern of violence rises through childhood and sometimes continues into adulthood.

WHY DO YOUNG PEOPLE BECOME VIOLENT?

Research on youth violence has identified certain personal characteristics and environmental conditions that place children and youth at risk for engaging in violent behavior or that seem to protect them from that risk. These characteristics and conditions — risk and protective factors, respectively — exist not only within individuals but also in every social setting in which they find themselves: family, school, peer group, and community.

Risk factors can identify vulnerable populations that may benefit from intervention efforts but not particular individuals who may become violent. No single risk factor or combination of factors can predict violence with certainty. Similarly, protective factors cannot guarantee that a child exposed to risk will not become violent.

More research is necessary to identify risk and protective factors, to determine when in a person's development these factors come into play, and to discover why violence starts, continues, or stops in childhood and adolescence. However, research to date offers a solid basis for implementing programs aimed at reducing risk factors and promoting protective factors — and thereby preventing violence.

WHAT RISK FACTORS ARE CORRELATED WITH YOUTH VIOLENCE?

Risk factors for violence are different for youth with the early onset pattern compared to those with the late onset pattern. The most powerful risk factors for children ages 6 to 11 who commit violence at ages 15 to18 are involvement in serious (but not necessarily violent) criminal acts and substance abuse. Table 1 identifies these and other known childhood risk factors. The factors are ranked by the strength of their influence, as determined by statistical research undertaken for the U.S. Surgeon General’s report.

TABLE 1 Early Risk Factors for Those Who Commit Violence at Ages 15–18
Strongest factors	Involvement in serious (but not necessarily violent) criminal acts Substance abuse
Moderate factors	Male gender Physical aggression (males only) Low family socioeconomic status or poverty Antisocial (violent or criminal) parents
Additional factors shown to play a limited role	Psychological conditions, including hyperactivity Poor parent-child relations, including harsh, lax, or inconsistent dicipline Weak social ties Problem (antisocial) behavior Exposure to television violence Poor attitude toward or performance in school Medical or physical conditions Low IQ Broken home Dishonesty Abusive or neglectful parents Antisocial peers
Source: Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, p. 60.

Mid- to late adolescence is a period of significant developmental change and a time during which peer influences outweigh family influence. The strongest risk factors for adolescents ages 12 to 14 who commit violence at ages 15 to 18 are identified in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Late Risk Factors for Those Who Commit Violence at Ages 15–18
Strongest factors	Weak ties to conventional peers Ties to antisocial or delinquent peers Gang membership Involvement in other criminal acts
Additional factors shown to play a limited role	Psychological conditions, including restlessness, difficulty concentrating (males only), and risk taking Poor parent-child relations, including harsh or lax discipline, poor monitoring or supervision, and low parental involvement Aggression (males only) Male gender Poor attitude toward or performance in school Physical violence Crime, drugs, and disorganization in the neighborhood Antisocial parents Antisocial attitudes, beliefs Crimes against persons Problem (antisocial) behavior Low IQ Broken home Low family socioeconomic status or poverty Abusive parents Family conflict (males only) Substance abuse
Source: Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, p. 60.

An accumulation of risk factors is more important in predicting violent behaviors than is the presence of any single factor. The more risk factors a child or young person is exposed to, the greater the likelihood that he or she will become violent.

CAN OTHER FACTORS LEAD TO YOUTH VIOLENCE?

Some situations and conditions can influence the likelihood of violence or the form it takes. Situational factors - such as provoking, taunting, and demeaning interactions - can spark unplanned violence. The presence of a gun in certain situations can raise the level of violence.

The Surgeon General’s Report found only limited evidence indicating a relationship between serious mental disorders and violence in adolescents or young adults in the general population, but young people with serious mental disorders who also abuse substances or have not received treatment may be at risk for violence.

WHAT FACTORS PROTECT AGAINST YOUTH VIOLENCE?

Protective factors - the personal characteristics and environmental conditions that help protect against a specific risk - provide some explanation as to why children and adolescents who face the same degree of risk may behave differently.

The research evidence about factors that protect against youth violence is not as extensive as is the research on risk factors, and the research must be considered preliminary. Although a number of protective factors have been proposed, only two have been found to moderate the risk of violence: an intolerant attitude toward deviance, including violence, and commitment to school. These factors reflect a commitment to traditional values. Both effects are small.

WHAT ROLE DO CULTURE, ETHNICITY, AND RACE PLAY IN YOUTH VIOLENCE?

Considered apart from other life circumstances, race and ethnicity have not been shown to be risk factors for youth violence.

The evidence suggests that the link between race and violence is based largely on social and political differences rather than on biological differences. Ethnicity may account for limited opportunities due to prejudice, and ethnic minority families may face acculturation stresses. On the other hand, some features of ethnic cultures may serve as protective factors (Surgeon General, 2001; APA 1993).
Prevention specialists generally presume that risk factors for youth violence identified in studies with primarily White participants are relevant also for such culturally diverse groups as African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. Research on the roles that race, ethnicity, and culture may play among young people of specific minority groups is needed to shed light on the risk and protective factors that affect those groups.

HOW DOES MEDIA VIOLENCE AFFECT YOUTH VIOLENCE?

In the context of the ongoing debate on the effect of media violence on children and youth, the U.S. Surgeon General’s report summarizes major research findings from the small body of research on the topic:

Exposure to media violence can increase children’s aggressive behavior in the short term. Media violence increases aggressive attitudes and emotions, which theoretically are linked to aggressive and violent behavior. Evidence for long-term effects of media violence is inconsistent.
Violent behaviors occur infrequently and are subject to multiple influences. Existing evidence is insufficient to describe accurately how much exposure to media violence—of what types, for how long, at what ages, for what types of children, or in what types of home settings—will predict violent behavior in adolescents and adults.

Families play a critical role in guiding their children’s exposure to the media, including television programs, films and videos, and computer and video games. Community groups—such as schools, faith-based organizations, and parent-teacher-student organizations—can teach parents and children how to be more critical consumers of media. In addition, Federal agencies can encourage needed research, share research findings with the public, encourage increased interaction between violence prevention researchers and media researchers, and create networks for sharing solutions to social and public health problems. For a more detailed discussion of the risk factors for youth violence, see Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, chapter 4.

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