NCJ Number
166252
Date Published
1997
Length
196 pages
Annotation
This book provides a theoretical base and practical suggestions for building healthy relationships as a violence prevention strategy.
Abstract
The authors argue that the prevention of violence is cheaper, more effective, and more humane than the vast majority of current efforts at detection, deterrence, punishment, or containment. They contend that the existing knowledge base of personal violence is sufficient to mount more meaningful efforts to curtail the perpetuation of these patterns. Relationships, especially those formed in childhood and adolescence, with caregivers, peers, and intimate partners, are both the training ground and the mode of expression of much personal violence. The book develops several themes that set the stage for a health promotion effort aimed at building healthy, nonviolent relationships among youth. One theme is that the expression of violence is most commonly seen in the context of relationships. A second theme is that current policies to address personal violence are outdated and superficial. A third theme is that violence does not affect everyone equally; it is ingrained in cultural expressions of power and inequality and affects women, children, and minorities most significantly. Fourth, prevention of violence entails building on the positive (through empowerment) in the context of relationships, not just focusing on individual weaknesses or deviance. A fifth theme is that youth are important resources and are part of the solution. One chapter identifies the core ingredients of successful prevention programs, and the concluding chapter describes the Youth Relationships Project, which is designed to assist youth in the development of positive skills and behaviors that will exclude violence. 272 references and a subject index