NCJ Number
159960
Date Published
1996
Length
29 pages
Annotation
This chapter reviews the factors in early life that put children at risk of becoming violent and the factors that protect children from becoming so; it describes interventions that address these risk and protective factors and focuses especially on an ecological model of early childhood intervention that the authors are currently testing.
Abstract
Although researchers, educators, and social policymakers have designed and implemented numerous interventions, most have focused on middle childhood or youth violence. A compelling argument can be made for earlier intervention, however. Patterns of violent behavior are established early in life; risk and protective factors may have their most potent influence in early childhood. This chapter describes an ecological model that includes support at the individual, family, peer, and community/societal levels. In this model, education programs for child-care providers and families are integrated with community and political action initiatives. A unique focus of the model is contextual intervention, in which children's social learning is enhanced informally within authentic play contexts. Another unique aspect of this model is its interdisciplinary nature. Although there has been a growing trend toward collaboration between educators and mental health professionals at the middle and high school levels, transdisciplinary efforts at the early childhood level have lagged behind in recent years. As the authors are learning in their own project, there is much to be gained from combining expertise in child development and educational strategies at the individual level with a broader perspective of systems change. More support is needed for violence-prevention initiatives that seek to integrate strategies that have been found to be effective across disciplines concerned with children, families, and communities. 81 references