NCJ Number
233639
Date Published
August 2010
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Based on national data combined from the 2004-2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this study examines past-year violent behavior among adolescents with various sociodemographic and school-related characteristics, such as family income, age, gender, and grades in school.
Abstract
The data show that 22.6 percent of adolescents (ages 12-17) participated in a serious fight at school or work in the past year; 16.1 percent participated in a group-against-group fight; and 7.6 percent attacked others with the intent to inflict serious injury. Overall, 30.9 percent of youth engaged in at least one of the aforementioned violent behaviors. Of the adolescents in families with annual incomes of less than $20,000, 40.5 percent engaged in any of these violent behaviors. Of the youth living in families with incomes of $75,000 or more, 24.6 percent participated in any of the violent behaviors. Youth with a "C" average or better in school participated in violent behavior at approximately the same rate as youth in families with incomes of $75,000 or more. Among youth with a "D" average or lower who were in families with incomes of $75,000 or higher were just as likely to engage in violence as youth in families with a incomes of less than $20,000. Males were more likely than females to have engaged in at least one of the three violent behaviors in the past year (34.6 percent compared to 27 percent); and those 12 to 14 years old were more likely to have participated in violent behavior than those 15-17 years old (32.2 percent compared to 29.6 percent). The report concludes that with nearly one in three youths engaging in at least one of the violent behaviors examined in this study, it is clear that youth violence remains an ongoing public health problem. 1 table, 4 figures, and 5 notes