Violence

Todd I. Herrenkoh

Paul Boxer

Anne McGlynn-Wright

Youth violence is a subcategory of interpersonal violence that involves the use of physical force or threats of force by a young person in which there is intent to cause another harm. Crimes typically associated with this definition include aggravated and simple assault, robbery with or without a weapon, and rape or sexual assault. In some reports, bullying and physical fighting are also included as examples of youth violence (http://www.cdc.gov/Violenceprevention/youthviolence/index.html). Those who commit violent acts, whether or not they are officially charged with a crime, are called perpetrators or offenders, terms used interchangeably throughout this chapter when summarizing research on the etiology and prevention of violence. While the mention of “youth” violence implies a focus on young people who are under the age of 18, research on the topic often applies to young adults aged 19 to 25 years (http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/definitions.html). Thus, our reference to youth should be taken to include both adolescents and young adults (AYAs).

The World Health Organization¹ characterizes interpersonal violence as a “universal challenge” that affects every country and every community across the globe. Despite its pervasiveness, rates of the more serious forms of violent crime in the US, including crimes committed by juveniles and young adults, have actually declined in number over the past 30 years,² reasons for which are debated. Researcher suggests that the decline is due to targeted efforts at prevention. Others attribute the decline to better policing and an increasing intolerance of violence in the hardest hit communities (http://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/strategies/hot-spot-policing/Pages/welcome.aspx).

Still, others suggest that violent crime is less prevalent now than before only because population demographics have shifted and there are fewer young people now to commit violence. Regardless of the cause of the decline—and it is unlikely there is just one—the current trend is encouraging. Nonetheless, it is necessary to keep a focus on how to lessen violence so that this trend continues.

In this chapter, we briefly summarize the epidemiology of youth violence, and then provide information on its consequences, and the risk and protective factors for violence most documented in the research literature. We also provide information on assessment strategies for violent youth and give some information on promising prevention approaches at the community, school, and family levels.

EPIDEMIOLOGY

Physical Assault and Other Violent Crime

Within the US, violent crime has become a topic of major concern for policy makers and program developers, partly because of the high-profile school shootings that have occurred in recent years and the outcry by the general public that has followed each event.³ Statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)⁴ indicate that young people under the age of 18 (i.e., those legally classified as juveniles) accounted for just under 14% of all violent crime arrests in 2010. Most arrests involve legal adults. However, among young people ages 15 to 24, homicide remains a leading cause of death. And, sadly, the majority of these deaths (82.8%) are linked to the use of firearms.

When less serious forms of violence are taken into account, rates of violence are even higher. According to the CDC, in 2009, nearly a third of all students in 9th to 12th grades had been in a physical fight and over 17.5% had carried a weapon in the past 30 days.⁵ Among males, the prevalence of weapon carrying in 2013 was over 25%.

Statistics compiled from victimization records provide even more evidence of the widespread nature and harm caused by lethal and nonlethal forms of violence. In 2011, over 700,000 young people were treated by emergency room departments for injuries related to violence.⁴ All the more alarming, these numbers capture only a fraction of the violent incidents that occur each year because many incidents go undocumented. A recent report suggests that in 2012 just under 60% of all violence-related injuries for all age groups were reported to police.⁶

Gender Differences

Many years of research have shown that physical violence is more common among males⁷ and that males perpetrate more serious forms of violence than do similarly aged females.⁸ Statistics compiled by the CDC show that 86% of youth homicide victims (age 10 to 24) in 2010 were male. Interestingly, a report by Chesney-Lind and Belknap⁷ found that the gender gap in violent crime arrests may be narrowing, possibly due to changes in policing strategies that bring more young women into contact with authorities.

Racial and Ethnic Differences

In the US, the risk of perpetrating and being victimized by violence varies by age, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic factors.⁸ Victimization statistics show that Black youth are generally more involved in violence (as perpetrators and victims) than are youth of other racial groups.⁸ At their peak rates of homicide victimization, Black
men are nine times more likely than White men to become victims of homicide.⁹ Nonlethal forms of violence that result in harm to victims, such as rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, are also higher among Blacks.¹⁰ In 2012, more Blacks were victimized by violence than were Whites or Hispanics. Statistics show that Native Americans are also increasingly vulnerable.¹¹

Some view these racial differences as an artifact of how violent crimes are documented and tallied. Others believe that they represent the lived realities of young people of color, such that they encounter violence more often. In fact, there is actually some consistency in trends shown in reports compiled from self-reports and official record data (e.g., police arrests and court processing documents), showing that young adult Black males are indeed the most likely to be impacted by violence.⁴,¹²

Leading hypotheses about these racial differences center on the socioeconomic disadvantages and poor living conditions of many Black families. Some scholars attribute disparate living conditions to discriminatory policies and practices that have reduced opportunities for upward social and economic mobility for certain youth.¹³ It is most definitely the case that neighborhoods with highest crime rates are often those that have the fewest resources for young residents and their families.¹³ High residential turnover and anonymity among residents in these neighborhoods can lead to a breakdown in the social fabric of the community that binds individuals together around a common set of values and norms against violence. As violence persists within the most disadvantaged neighborhoods, residents can be made to feel incapable of addressing the problem in any fundamental way, layering the appearance of resignation on top of the social disengagement many already experience. As problematic, violence can actually serve a useful purpose for some young people of color by allowing them a social standing among their peers.¹³

Consequences of Violence

That violence can bring about serious consequences for victims is well established and undisputed.³ However, it is perhaps not as well known that those who perpetrate violence are also more likely to be victimized and harmed by violence themselves. A recent study by Chassin and colleagues¹⁴ tracked a sample of youth offenders over a 7-year period into early adulthood and then analyzed why some offenders suffered an early death. They found that homicides and suicides were among the top causes of death for those who perpetrated crimes and then died in their 20s.

RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH VIOLENCE

The etiology of violent offending of young people points to a range of risk and protective factors.¹⁵ Risk factors are those that predict an increase in the likelihood of violence occurring, whereas protective factors are predictors of less violence. The risk factors most predictive of violence are similar across demographic groups and span a range of social environmental contexts or domains: family, school, neighborhood, peer, individual.¹⁶

Risk Factors

Risk factors for violence have been documented in a number of studies, including the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development,¹⁷ the Pittsburgh Youth Study,¹⁸ the Rochester Youth Development Study,¹⁹ and the Seattle Social Development Project,¹⁶,²⁰ to name a few. Findings of these studies show that there is considerable overlap in risk factors for violence and other youth problems, such as drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, and mental health disorders. Thus, many of these problems are rooted in similar causes and possibly preventable using similar strategies.²¹ Table 63.2 (see Chapter 63) outlines some of the more well-established risk factors for youth problems, including violence.

Studies show that the likelihood of violence and other related problems is substantially higher for young people exposed to several risk factors in combination.²² Therefore, prevention programs that target multiple risk factors are thought to have a higher likelihood of success than those more that are more narrowly focused on single risk factors in isolation from others.²⁰

Firearms, Gang Involvement, and the Perpetuation of Violence

There are certain risk factors for violence worth emphasizing because they are discussed often in media reports and the popular literature. These include firearm availability, gang involvement, and child abuse or child maltreatment.

Firearms

In the aftermath of several tragic school shootings and mass killings involving guns, there has been a renewed interest in firearm control and gun safety.²³ One such event was a school shooting in 2012 perpetrated by a 20-year-old man in Newtown, Connecticut, which led to the deaths of many young children and the adults who tried to protect them. Following the event, there was a plea from gun control advocates to tighten restrictions on gun access. They warned of future tragedies and called upon elected officials to do more to keep children safe. At the same time, some in positions of influence cautioned against moving too quickly with any one corrective measure. And, others voiced strong opposition to any measure that would limit the rights of US citizens to own guns. Violence prevention researchers offered their own perspectives on what is needed to keep incidents like that in Newtown from happening again. For example, Kellermann and Rivara²³ called for an increasing investment of federal research funds in studies on firearm use, noting that there has been a deliberate attempt on the part of some in the government to block research for gun research because they feared political reprisal. Whether or not those who control research funds eventually choose to take a bold position on the issue, findings of the few studies that exist on the issue are rather convincing in showing that guns in the wrong hands can lead to terrible tragedy.⁴

Gang Involvement

Street gangs have been around for decades, and there is growing awareness that gang activity is more prevalent and entrenched now than previously thought.²⁴,²⁵ It is estimated that about 25% of all middle and high school students in the US are aware of the presence of gangs in their schools,²⁴ and the most recent estimates by the National Gang Center²⁵ report that about 31% of all US cities, towns, suburbs, and rural communities encountered problems with gangs—all together, about 3,300 jurisdictions. This figure comprises approximately 782,500 gang members in 29,900 gangs, with most gang activity concentrated in urban areas. Slightly more than half of all gangs and three-quarters of all gang members are located in large cities, and the majority of gang-related homicides (87%) occur in these areas. Youth who participate in gangs are at a much higher risk for perpetrating and being victimized by violence.²⁶

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