Youth Violence Research Articles

Prediction of Youth Violence Perpetration by Parental Nurturing Over Time.

Parental nurturing, including maternal and paternal caring and discussing ethics, is likely to predict violence perpetration in the youth negatively. This prediction stands on social bond theory, which specifies that parents and their bonding are crucial to curb violence perpetration. Nevertheless, the prediction is unclear from adolescence to young adulthood. To clarify this, the present study examines the effects over 6 years, using the panel data of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health on 3,947 U.S. youths. The examination controlled for prior violence perpetration and, thus, its confounding factors. Results showed that paternal nurturing but not maternal nurturing at Wave 1 and Wave 2 consistently displayed statistically significant inverse effects on violence perpetration at Wave 3. However, the significant effects were very weak. Paternal nurturing was very weakly inversely predictive of youth violence perpetration 6 years later. This conclusion implies that promoting paternal nurturing is slightly but not tremendously helpful to prevent violence perpetration in youth later. Meanwhile, practice can capitalize on the features of paternal bonding to deploy male nurturing and role modeling for such prevention.

Exploring strengths, psychological functioning and youth victimization among American Indians and Alaska Natives in four southern states

BackgroundIdentifying factors that support healthy psychological functioning after experiencing violence or other adversities in youth can lead to better prevention and intervention efforts. This is particularly important among communities with disproportionately high rates of adversity resulting from legacies of social and political injustices, such as American Indian and Alaska Native populations. MethodsData were pooled from four studies in the southern U.S. to examine a subsample of American Indian/Alaska Native participants (N = 147; mean age 28.54 years, SD = 16.3). Using the resilience portfolio model, we investigate the impact of three categories of psychosocial strengths (regulatory, meaning making, and interpersonal) on psychological functioning (subjective well-being and trauma symptoms), controlling for youth victimization, lifetime adversities, age, and gender. ResultsIn examining subjective well-being, the full model accounted for 52 % of the variance, with strengths explaining more variance than adversities (45 % vs 6 %). For trauma symptoms, the full model accounted for 28 % of the variance, with strengths and adversities accounting nearly equally for the variance (14 % and 13 %). DiscussionPsychological endurance and sense of purpose showed the most promise for bolstering subjective well-being while poly-strengths (having a diversity of multiple strengths) was most predictive of fewer trauma symptoms. Building psychosocial strengths offers promising strategies for prevention and intervention in Native nations and communities.

Relations Between Violence Exposure and Gun Carriage: Identifying Protective Factors Among African American Youth Living in Low-Income Urban Communities

This study identified risk, promotive, and protective factors for handgun carriage among 265 primarily African American adolescents ( Mage = 14.3) living in low-income urban areas. Community-based violent victimization and witnessing violence and in-person and cyber forms of peer victimization increased the probability of handgun carriage. Community collective efficacy, including caregiver-reported social connectedness and informal social control, and community developmental strengths/supports, including youth-reported community recognition for prosocial involvement and community developmental assets, moderated relations between both violent victimization and witnessing violence and handgun carriage. School developmental strengths/supports, including school developmental assets and family prosocial involvement in school, moderated relations between in-person and cyber victimization and handgun carriage. Family developmental strengths/supports, including family developmental assets and family recognition and opportunities for prosocial involvement, were associated with lower odds of handgun carriage. Study findings revealed distinct protective factors related to community violence exposure or peer victimization that can inform youth violence prevention efforts.

Trust is missing element in tackling youth violence

Trust is missing element in tackling youth violence

A Technology-Enhanced Intervention for Violence and Substance Use Prevention Among Young Black Men: Protocol for Adaptation and Pilot Testing.

Black boys and men from disinvested communities are disproportionately survivors and perpetrators of youth violence. Those presenting to emergency departments with firearm-related injuries also report recent substance use. However, young Black men face several critical individual and systemic barriers to accessing trauma-focused prevention programs. These barriers contribute to service avoidance, the exacerbation of violence recidivism, substance use relapse, and a revolving-door approach to prevention. In addition, young Black men are known to be digital natives. Therefore, technology-enhanced interventions offer a pragmatic and promising opportunity to mitigate these barriers, provide vital life skills for self-led behavior change, and boost service engagement with vital community resources. The study aims to systematically adapt and pilot-test Boosting Violence-Related Outcomes Using Technology for Empowerment, Risk Reduction, and Life Skills Preparation in Youth Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (BrotherlyACT), a culturally congruent, trauma-focused digital psychoeducational and service-engagement tool tailored to young Black men aged 15-24 years. BrotherlyACT will incorporate microlearning modules, interactive safety planning tools for risk assessment, goal-setting, mindfulness practice, and a service-engagement conversational agent or chatbot to connect young Black men to relevant services. The development of BrotherlyACT will occur in 3 phases. In phase 1, we will qualitatively investigate barriers and facilitators influencing young Black men's willingness to use violence and substance use prevention services with 15-30 young Black men (aged 15-24 years) who report perpetrating violence and substance use in the past year and 10 service providers (aged >18 years; any gender; including health care providers, street outreach workers, social workers, violence interrupters, community advocates, and school staff). Both groups will be recruited from community and pediatric emergency settings. In phase 2, a steering group of topic experts (n=3-5) and a youth and community advisory board comprising young Black men (n=8-12) and service providers (n=5-10) will be involved in participatory design, alpha testing, and beta testing sessions to develop, refine, and adapt BrotherlyACT based on an existing skills-based program (Achieving Change Through Values-Based Behavior). We will use user-centered design principles and the Assessment, Decision, Administration, Production, Topical, Experts, Integration, Training, and Testing framework to guide this adaptation process (phase 2). In phase 3, a total of 60 young Black men will pilot-test the adapted BrotherlyACT over 10 weeks in a single-group, pretest-posttest design to determine its feasibility and implementation outcomes. Phase 1 data collection began in September 2021. Phases 2 and 3 are scheduled to start in June 2023 and end in September 2024. The development and testing of BrotherlyACT is a crucial first step in expanding an evidence-based psychoeducational and service-mediating intervention for young Black men involved in violence. This colocation of services shifts the current prevention strategy from telling them why to change to teaching them how. PRR1-10.2196/43842.

“Governed by the streets”: the importance of streetworkers’ perspectives on factors influencing their clients’ engagement in crime or violence

ABSTRACT This exploratory study examines youth violence prevention streetworkers’ perspectives on the causes of their clients’ engagement in crime and violence. This study draws on in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted with 37 streetworkers (SWs) in a large city in the northeastern region of the United States. As ‘street-level’ bureaucrats (SLBs; Lipsky 2010), SWs serve as liaisons between public agencies and their high-risk youth clients who need support, resources, and assistance. We find that SWs report three primary factors that influence their clients to engage in crime and violence, namely that youth are: 1) socialized into a culture of survival; 2) influenced by gangs; 3) reacting to exposure to trauma. We employ Lipsky (2010) and Anderson (1999) as our theoretical framework to further understand these findings and how they may affect SWs’ interactions with their clients. Lastly, we discuss our findings in the context of existing scholarship and present policy and program recommendations.

Enhancing School Capacity To Address Youth Violence (DOJ)

Federal Grants & ContractsVolume 47, Issue 9 p. 5-5 Grants Alerts Enhancing School Capacity To Address Youth Violence (DOJ) First published: 04 April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1002/fgc.32953Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume47, Issue96 April 2023Pages 5-5 RelatedInformation

Youth Inclusion Projects and Violence Reduction: Perceptions from the NYS Cohorts Programme in Mathare and Kibera

Abstract This paper seeks to address the connection between economic opportunities and violence prevention, through an in-depth study of the National Youth Service (NYS) Community Cohorts Programme – the biggest youth empowerment programme in Kenya’s recent history. Using field data, it seeks to answer the following question: To what extent did the National Youth Service Community Cohorts Programme in Kenya contribute to violence prevention in the low-income neighborhoods of Mathare and Kibera? Empirically, using the NYS as a case study, the paper will provide new data on the impact of youth programs that simultaneously seek to promote livelihoods and economic opportunities towards dealing with the challenges of violence and exclusion. It will also explore the impact of such projects in reducing violence at the local level. Theoretically, the study will contribute to broader scholarly discussions on youth and violence in Africa, as well as the economic incentives and motivations argument in preventing and reducing violence. Redesigned in 2013, the NYS programme sought to reach thousands of youth in poor urban areas, and by offering them jobs to improve their neighborhoods, the goal was to provide them with a new sense of purpose in their life, and potentially, steer them away from deviant behavior. The NYS initiative is the most ambitious jobs and economic opportunities project for urban and rural youth in Kenya. Given its scale and the resource commitment from the Kenya government, the NYS initiative will continue to be a reference for other youth-focused initiatives and, thus, provides a useful case for the study of the economic opportunities-violence nexus.

Disrupting the cycle of youth violence: The role of social support for youth in a Northern Irish Youth Work Programme

Abstract Youth violence is a significant concern and previous research has found that violence is both trauma inducing and violence inducing. Meta-analyses have demonstrated that peri-trauma contextual factors such as the presence or absence of social supports following the onset of trauma may be predictive of the onset and duration of psychological stress. The aim of this study is to build upon the existing research evidence to clarify the links between social support, psychological stress and physical violence among a cross-section of youth living in high-violence areas of Northern Ireland. Participants were a sample of 10–25-year-olds (N = 635) who participated in a targeted youth work programme in Northern Ireland. This study conducted a mediation analysis, entering social support as the independent variable, psychological distress as the mediator and self-reported violence as the outcome variable. Violent victimisation was entered as a covariate in the analysis. After controlling for violent victimisation, social support operates through psychological stress to influence the risk of physical violence. Social support may contribute to reductions in psychological stress and thus buffer against the risks of living in areas of elevated community violence. Specialist youth work approaches may provide an opportunity to reduce psychological stress and thus help to mitigate the risk of further violence. Combined, these insights provide opportunities for harm reduction and prevention. At the same time, these findings advance our understanding of the distinct mechanisms of change involved in youth work-led violence prevention efforts.

Colonial Aphasia and the Circuits of Whiteness in Inclusive and Anti-Racist Youth Social Policy

This article maps how inclusive discourses aimed at addressing systemic racism and anti-Black racism circulate and operate within youth social policy in Ontario, Canada. Numerous reports and programmes attempt to understand systemic racism and propose new approaches to youth work in addressing youth violence, underemployment, underachievement, etc. This article demonstrates how efforts to counter state violence and systemic racism are pulled into the economic and political framework of racial neoliberal and colonial standards. Employing a Foucauldian genealogy of policy discourses (1992-2019) and semi-structured interviews with youth sector members, it traces how anti-racism discourses are altered by a colonial aphasia (Stoler, 2016) that in turn supports circuits of Whiteness, which continue to target, measure, train, and surveil racialised youth, limiting alternative ways of being.

Edukasi Pencegahan Kekerasan pada Remaja di SMAN 5 Padang

Violence is an act that refers to an attitude or behaviour that is inhumane so that it can hurt other people. People who commit violence not only harm their victims but will also make the perpetrators get punished according to applicable law. Data on youth violence compiled by the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (KPPA) in 2016 shows that Indonesia still has problems with youth and child violence. The activity was disseminated to partners, namely SMAN 5 Padang, which, although no cases have been reported, there has never been socialization and education about violence in adolescents. There was a concern and request for the school as a partner to socialize. The number of cases of violence, such as bullying and brawls, is something that we need to pay attention to. This service activity aimed to provide education and prevention regarding violence in adolescents. Activities were carried out in the form of educational activities as well as pre-tests and post-tests to measure students' knowledge of youth violence. Questions were sourced from socialization material obtained from various references. The pre-test results found that more than half of the students (73%) had good knowledge about violence in adolescents, and the post-test showed an increase in knowledge of 100%. It was hoped that with this activity, students could be more aware of all forms of violence around them, and the school could routinely provide continuing education on preventing youth violence.

Examining Longitudinal Associations Between Future Orientation and Multiple Forms of Youth Violence Perpetration

PurposeFuture orientation, defined as hopes and aspirations for the future, is gaining promise as a cross-cutting protective factor against youth violence. This study assessed how future orientation longitudinally predicted multiple forms of violence perpetration among minoritized male youth in neighborhoods made vulnerable by concentrated disadvantage. MethodsData were drawn from a sexual violence (SV) prevention trial among 817 predominately African American male youth, ages 13 to 19, residing in neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by community violence. We used latent class analysis to create baseline future orientation profiles of participants. Mixed effects models examined how future orientation classes predicted multiple forms of violence perpetration (i.e., weapon violence, bullying, sexual harassment, non-partner SV, and intimate partner SV) at 9-month follow-up. ResultsLatent class analysis yielded four classes, with nearly 80% of youth belonging to moderately high and high future orientation classes. We found significant overall associations between latent class and weapon violence, bullying, sexual harassment, non-partner SV, and SV (all p < .01). While patterns of association differed across each type of violence, violence perpetration was consistently highest among youth in the low-moderate future orientation class. Compared to youth in the low future orientation class, youth in the low-moderate class had higher odds of bullying (odds ratio 3.51, 95% confidence interval: 1.56–7.91) and sexual harassment perpetration (odds ratio 3.44, 95% confidence interval: 1.49–7.94). DiscussionThe longitudinal relationship between future orientation and youth violence may not be linear. Greater attention to nuanced patterns of future orientation may better inform interventions seeking to harness this protective factor to reduce youth violence.

Childhood Trauma Predicts Sadistic Traits and Violent Behavior in Incarcerated Youth.

Childhood trauma exposure is prevalent among incarcerated youth and associated with antisocial traits and behavior. It has been proposed as a risk factor for the development of sadistic traits, which has been shown to predict future violence in youth. Using regression analyses, we examined the association between self-report and expert-rated measures of childhood trauma, sadistic traits (i.e., verbal, physical, vicarious sadism), and violence (i.e., homicide and non-homicide violent acts) in 54 incarcerated juveniles. Expert-rated (but not self-report) severity of physical abuse was associated with physical and vicarious sadistic traits. Other trauma types (e.g., emotional or sexual abuse) were not significantly associated with sadistic traits. Physical abuse coupled with vicarious sadistic traits conferred the highest risk of non-homicide violence. The findings support and clarify links between childhood trauma, sadistic traits, and violent behavior in youth, and are distinct from those found in other antisocial profiles.

A cross-sectional study of the association between exposure to violence, intelligence, and executive function in Brazilian youths

We carried out an exploratory study of the association between exposure to violence, intelligence, and executive functions in Brazilian preadolescents. The study included 56 participants (31 males) aged 8 to 14 years old (mean = 11.3, SD = 1.0). We administered neuropsychological tests to evaluate executive functions and the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) to evaluate exposure to violence. We used the following neuropsychological instruments: Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI), Stroop Color-Word Interference task, digits subtest of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, and an N-back task. We generated a composite score from neuropsychological test scores and investigated the association of that score, and individual test scores, with exposure to violence and socioeconomic status (SES). Results suggest, first, that exposure to violence is associated with a 0.5-point lower intelligence quotient score for every reported victimization event in the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire. Results also show that the digits backward subtest scores showed a significant negative correlation with exposure to violence (JVQ; rho = −0.29, p < 0.05); both analyses were adjusted for the level of schooling of parents or guardians, which was also found to be significantly associated with lower intelligence quotient scores. We discuss results in the light of the existing literature on the effects of exposure to violence on adolescent development, and the amounting evidence that suggests an association of exposure to violence, and of victimization, with tests that evaluate constructs of executive functions. The study struggled with low compliance from participants, and we underscore the challenges of carrying out empirical studies aimed at better understanding the development of underrepresented youths, such as those from Central and Latin America.

Adolescent risk and protection profiles for violence perpetration: Insights for family- and community-based prevention.

Youth violence continues to be a major developmental and health concern. Preventative resources at individual, family, and community levels may reduce risk, yet the extent to which youth violence perpetration differs by patterns of risk and protective factors remains unknown. Using data from the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey (N = 4630; 49% female; Mage = 14.69), we conducted person-centered, latent profile analyses to identify four patterns for risk of violence perpetration among middle and high school youth. Youth in the Low Risk-High Protection profile (37%) had low likelihood of violence perpetration. Youth in the Low Risk-Low Protection profile (4%) were characterized by poor family functioning, low school belonging, and low community protection. These youth had similar odds of violence perpetration as youth in the Moderate Risk-Moderate Protection profile (44%), which were elevated compared to the Low Risk-High Protection profile. Youth in the High Risk-Low Protection profile (15%), which had the highest levels of risk factors and lowest levels of protective factors, had the highest likelihood of violence perpetration. The High Risk-Low Protection profile was expected based on past research, but the emergence of the Low Risk-Low Protection profile is a unique contribution to the research. Findings contribute to the literature by going beyond a cumulative risk model, identifying subgroups with various patterns of risk and protection in the population, and highlighting the importance of selected prevention for subgroups of youth with high risk or challenging family and community environments.

THE INFLUENCE OF RACIAL VIOLENCE IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND SCHOOLS ON THE PSYCHO-BEHAVIORAL OUTCOMES IN ADOLESCENCE

Racism in all its manifestations is violence. This study examines the effect of discrimination-based racial violence in neighborhoods and schools on adolescent psychological and behavioral outcomes, while also testing the moderating influence of civic engagement. Researchers used a cross-sectional survey design to measure neighborhood and school-based racial discrimination, civic engagement, racial identity development, racism-based stress, and aggressive behaviors in a sample of 167 13 - 23 year old adolescents and emerging adults. Participants were recruited through a cluster randomized trial to test the impact of blight remediation in preventing youth violence. Study researchers hypothesized a direct effect of racial discrimination on adolescents’ racism-based stress and aggressive behaviors and a buffering effect of civic engagement on these relationships. Researchers also examined these relationships in participants with higher-than-average racial identity development scores. Multivariate regression models revealed a significant direct effect of both neighborhood and school discrimination on adolescents’ aggressive behaviors. Civic engagement had a positive buffering effect in the relationship between neighborhood discrimination and aggressive behaviors. Similar relationships were observed among adolescents with a high racial identity with stronger effect. Study findings have implications for understanding the behavioral impact of racial violence and investing in civic engagement to mitigate its impact in adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Violence Toward and by Youth: Part I: Looking for the "Whys".

Violence is a public health crisis. It is especially concerning when it involves youth, whether they be victims, perpetrators, or observers. Part 1 of this two-part series categorizes the types of violence toward and by youth. There is a great deal of information on the prevalence of violence, mostly related to school shootings. However, the literature provides limited information on the antecedents of violent behaviors, and there is a dearth of information on "why" youth engage in violence. This is the unanswered question that drives Part 1 of this series. The beginning steps to understand "why" are viewed through the lens of a modified ABC Model (antecedent, behavior, consequence). Interventions for youth violence will be explored in Part 2.

Results of Psychological Training Program To Develop Children and Youth Mainstays for Immune-Strengthening and Surveillance of Family Violence in Children and Youth in Chiang Rai

This experimental research aimed to study the result of the psychological training program to develop children and youth mainstays for immune-strengthening and surveillance of family violence in children and youth in Chiang Rai. The sample group was the youth in Chiang Rai aged 15-25 years who had the average score from the questionnaire about the violence in families of children and youth in Chiang Rai from the 75th percentile. The purposive sampling method was used to select 60 samples to participate in the psychological training program by conducting a match pair of children and youth whose averages were similar: 30 youth to the experimental group and 30 youth to the control group. The psychological training program was conducted twice a week, 1.30 to 2 hours each session, five sessions in total within three weeks. The operational step included three stages: Initial, Working, and Ending Stage. Research results demonstrated that the mean of family violence in children and youth in Chiang Rai from the experimental group during the pre-test period was 3.54 and the Standard Deviation (SD) was 0.65, which was high. The mean of family violence and SD during the post-test period was 2.63 and 0.34, which was moderate. The mean of family violence and SD during the post-test period was 2.56 and 0.33, which was moderate. As for children and youth from the control group, the mean of family violence and SD during the pre-test was 3.86, and SD was 0.48, which was high. The mean of family violence, and SD during the post-test period was 3.82 and 0.50, which was high. During the follow-up stage, the mean of family violence and, SD was 3.80 and 3.48, which was high. It proved that the program was successful to some extent due to the increasing mean of family violence.

Would Caring Teachers Buffer the Link Between Violence Victimization and Early Sexual Initiation? Comparing Heterosexual and Non-Heterosexual African American Youth.

This study investigated the relationship between youth violence exposures (i.e., peer and neighborhood) and early sexual initiation. It also explored whether caring relationships with teachers might moderate this relationship and whether results differed for heterosexual versus non-heterosexual African American youth. The study sample (N = 580) comprised 475 heterosexual and 105 non-heterosexual youths, 319 female and 261 male, ages 13 to 24years (M age = 15.8). Students were assessed for peer and neighborhood violence, relationship with teachers, early sexual initiation, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Major results indicated a positive relationship between exposure to peer and neighborhood violence and early sexual initiation for heterosexual youth but not those who identified as non-heterosexual. Further, identifying as female (vs. male) was significantly associated with later sexual initiation for both heterosexual and non-heterosexual youth. In addition, caring teachers moderated the relationship between exposure to peer violence and age of sexual initiation among non-heterosexual youth. Programs and interventions to curtail violence sequelae would need to consider the unique effects of various types of youth violence exposures and the significance of sexual orientation.

‘Safe spaces and places’: the value of design-led methodologies in developing online narratives

ABSTRACT This paper considers the value of a design-led methodological approach, adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic to facilitate online interviews with young people (aged 15–17) who had been involved in crime and violence in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. The development of an original digital workshop and set of exercises (referred to as a tool) using interactive methods engaged criminalised youths online and gathered qualitative data regarding their experiences of crime and violence. The research demonstrated how principles of design can be used to empower participants, overcome communication barriers, obtain rich data through online methods, and move away from a traditional ‘interview’ experience, creating a safer space for more genuine accounts and narratives. Thus, this paper suggests that researchers of youth crime and violence, and social scientists more broadly, may wish to consider how adopting design-led methodologies can allow places and spaces for participants’ narratives to develop.