NCJ Number
230568
Date Published
1999
Length
287 pages
Annotation
Based on interviews with violent youth, a review of the latest child-development research, and the author's own 25 years as a psychologist studying violence and its impact on children and youth, this book identifies the causes of youth violence and proposes strategies to prevent it when possible, as well as to rehabilitate violent youth when prevention fails.
Abstract
The introductory chapter documents the epidemic of youth violence and the increase in associated risk factors of child abuse, youth gangs, substance abuse, weapons possession, involvement with the criminal justice system, neurological problems, and difficulties in school. The four chapters of Part One - "How Boys Get Lost" - discuss the psychological, behavioral, social, and moral factors that contribute to youth violence. One chapter discusses shame and depression in youth as consequences of experiencing rejection and neglect within their families and the larger society. A second chapter examines how early vulnerability in children leads to aggression over time. The other two chapters of Part One identify factors in American society that encourage and promote violent behavior, including the absence of family and societal influences that promote nonviolence, empathy, and concern for others. The three chapters of Part Two - "What Boys Need" - identify the preventive and rehabilitative strategies that offer the most promise in reducing youth violence. Preventive factors discussed are attachment to loving, caring adults; the development of moral anchors found in religion, youth groups that promote positive development, and democratic public institutions that protect human rights; and association with educational institutions that provide encouragement and structure for intellectual, vocational, and moral development. Other chapters in Part Two focus on rehabilitative principles for violent youth. Appended annotated listing of prevention and intervention resources