Risk
Behaviors
Adolescent Violence
Roselyn K. Polk
Introduction
Violence committed
by adolescents is neither a new, nor a rare phenomena. Although predominate
stereotypes place the focus of most violence within the poverty stricken,
drug-dominated inner-city neighborhoods and schools, violence among adolescents
spans all ethnic groups, socio-economic levels, all lifestyles, and exists
within both urban and rural communities. The Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention (CSAP) defines violence "as any act that causes psychological,
emotional, or physical harm to individuals and/or communities, or causes
damage to property" (Gardner & Resnik, 1996). Theories such as culture
of violence theory (Felson, Liska, Sourth, & McNulty, 1994), psychopathology
theory (Lewis, Shanock, Pincus, & Glasser, 1979), social cognition
theory (Markus & Zajonc, 1985), drive theory (Dollard, Doob, Miller,
Mowrer, & Sears, 1939), instinct theory (Freud, 1950; Lorenz, 1966;
McDougall, 1908; Trotter, 1916), social learning theory (Bandura &
Walters, 1959), conflict theory (Dahredorf, 1968), and impression management
theory (Felson, 1981, 1982; Mason, 1998) have all attempted to explain
the mechanisms that form the foundational basis for violence. However,
no single theory has yet been able to explain the multi-faceted components
of the social, psychological, and biophysical facets that appear to be
intertwined within violent behaviors.
Adolescents, like all humans, are social by nature and this sociability
predisposition leads them to engage in interaction with others human beings.
These social interactions and their resultant negotiations can lead to
interpersonal tensions that can, under the right conditions, manifest into
interpersonal violence. Thus, the acceptance of the use of violence and
violent behaviors do not themselves occur within a vacuum. Rather, they
manifest themselves in relation to differences in beliefs and motivations,
physical and sexual abuse, temperament, and victimization that can arise
from and within the many interpersonal and intrapersonal relationship interactions
that make up an adolescent\rquote s social world. Interactions that are
primarily negative in context may have serious long-term consequences.
For example, those adolescents t hat live with domestic violence are more
likely to view the use of violence in their intimate relationships as an
acceptable social norm, as well as an acceptable form of conflict resolution.
Children who identify with television, film, and other forms of media characters
may be at risk for being influenced by the violence portrayed by those
media depictions, including violence-oriented animated computer games.
Many other factors also play a role in the production and exacerbation
of violent behaviors. Alcohol, illegal substance abuse, gang membership,
and accessibility to firearms each play a role and place their unique brand
on adolescent violent behaviors. Lifestyle (Hindelang, Gottfredson, &
Garafolo, 1978), opportunity (Cohen, Kluegal, & Land, 1981) , chronic
poverty (Greene, 1993), and weapon-carrying (DuRant, Getts, Cadenhead,
& Woods, 1995) are other factors implicated in the escalation of violence
and victimization occurring among adolescents in our nations schools, homes,
and communities.
The violence associated with gangs has resulted in gang membership increasingly
becoming a national violence prevention focus. Current research indicates
that adolescents join gangs for a variety of reasons including identity
development and a need to belong, peer-friendship, enhanced self-esteem,
and access to resources. One may also seek membership out of fear or self-protection
and peer pressure. With the increase in the lethality and frequency of
violent gang related incidents, an increase linked to the availability
of resources such as illegal drugs, and the firearms used to protect those
resources, many communities are focusing on gang membership intervention
and suppression.
Trends in Youth
Violence |
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Violence is prevalent throughout our society
and spans all segments of society, all races, classes, and lifestyles |
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Most violence occurs among acquaintances meaning that one
has a greater likelihood of being hit or killed by a family member or friend
while at home than by a stranger or while outside the home |
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Adolescence is a time of heightened violence and the frequency
of engaging in violent behaviors is greater for adolescents than for all
other age groups |
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Violence risk differs among adolescents and those at the
greatest risk are adolescents who are poor, urban-dwelling, male, and Black |
Component Elements of Adolescent Violence |
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Chronic poverty, e.g., living in impoverished, high crime areas |
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Alcohol and illegal substance use/abuse |
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Racism |
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Misogyny |
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Homophobia |
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Personality traits e.g., low self-esteem, temperament |
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Parental influences and family conflict |
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Academic failure, including dropping out of school |
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Socio-cultural structural factors, e.g., acceptance of violence in
problem solving/conflict resolution, minority oppression |
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Accessibility to firearms |
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Gang membership |
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Physical and sexual abuse victimization |
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Homicide |
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Assault (including rape and sexual assault) |
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Sibling abuse, including incest |
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Parricide |
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Suicide--self-directed violence |
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Bullying and other school-related coercion and violence |
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Vandalism (and other forms of property damage) |
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Summary
Adolescent violence in our nations' schools and inner-city neighborhoods
continues to be a salient concern for adolescents, parents, communities,
and schools. In its scope, adolescent violence is not limited to any one
ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, or geographical region. And early
childhood experiences such as neglect and abuse can substantially impact
whether or not an adolescent engages in acts of violence. In addition,
the relative ease with which adolescents are able to access guns, illegal
drugs, and alcohol exacerbates the violence problem. In 1992, the CDC reported
that 26% of high school students carried a weapon and arrests for homicide
doubled for youth ages 15-16 from 1986 to 1991 even though there was no
population increase in the number of adolescents of this age (Fox &
Pierce, 1994). However, current FBI figures indicate juvenile arrests in
1997 for all types of violent crimes dropped 4% from the previous year.
Arrests i n 1996 for violent crimes fell 9.2% following a 2.9% decline
in 1995.
Despite the pessimistic overtones of much research and the media, programs
are being developed by academians, researchers, and medical and health
professionals in the hope of stemming the tide of adolescent violence.
Congress recently appropriated $95 million for crime prevention programs
for children at risk. Among the school-based, family-based, and community-based
programs aimed at reducing violent behaviors are prevention and intervention
programs focusing on anger management, confl ict resolution, interpersonal
problem solving skills, dating violence, those designed to raise self-esteem,
and general violence prevention curriculums (Powell & Hawkins, 1996;
Haugen, 1997). Anti-social behaviors are often the result of the perceived
lac k of alternatives that allow adolescents to achieve their goals through
prosocial means and they may view violence as the only available means
of power to which they have access. Most prevention specialists now believe
a multi-leveled approach is needed that incorporates the adolescent, family,
school, and community, all the social contexts within which the adolescent
lives, if we are to experience a reduction in the prevalence and acceptance
of violence among our nation's young people.
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