NCJ Number
147390
Date Published
1993
Length
96 pages
Annotation
Based on the findings of past and current research on violence by juveniles, this report of the American Psychological Association Commission on Violence and Youth examines the causes of violence and recommends intervention strategies that can prevent violent behavior.
Abstract
The report concludes that social forces such as prejudice, economic inequality, and attitudes toward violence in the mainstream American culture interact with the influences of early childhood to foster the expression of violence. Not everyone affected by these forces, however, turns to violence. In some cases, factors within a child's ethnic culture may become a buffer against adverse social circumstances. Culture builds identity, sets behavioral norms, and provides group cohesion that is vital to a child's growth and development. When children and youth have certain social experiences, their risk for violent behavior increases. These experiences include access to firearms, involvement with alcohol and other drugs, membership in antisocial groups, and exposure to violence in the mass media. Children and youth who are victims of violence or who live with the chronic presence of violence in their communities require interventions to decrease their risk of future victimization and violent behavior. The Commission recommends various early childhood interventions, school- based intervention, heightened awareness of cultural diversity, development of the mass media's potential to contribute to a decrease in violence, and restrictions on children's and youths' access to firearms. Other recommendations pertain to drug-abuse prevention, mental health services for juveniles, education programs to reduce prejudice and hostility, and intervention by psychologist as individuals and as a profession.