NCJ Number
244503
Journal
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume: 43 Issue: 2, Supplement 1 Dated: August 2012 Pages: S41-S56
Date Published
August 2012
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the results of a study aimed at identifying direct protective factors and risk factors associated with youth violence.
Abstract
This paper describes the results of the Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP) aimed at identifying direct protective factors and risk factors associated with youth violence. Analysis of the study's results found that depressed mood and low religious observance were risk factors for violence for youth aged 13-14 years and aged 15-18 years, the risk for later violence was increased by attention problems, earlier antisocial behavior such as truancy, family conflict, low school commitment, and living in a neighborhood where young people were in trouble. For youth aged 10-12 years, the analyses found that low level of attention problems, low risk-taking, refusal skills, school attachment, and low access and exposure to marijuana acted as direct protective factors for reducing the potential for later violence. The primary purpose of this study was to identify direct protective factors for nonviolence and risk factors for violence within the SSDP dataset and to compare these findings with those from three other longitudinal datasets: the Pittsburgh Youth Study, the Chicago Youth Development Study, and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Data for the study were obtained from a sample of 808 students from 18 Seattle public elementary schools who were followed since 1985 when they entered the 5th grade. In this longitudinal study, the prevalence of violence was measured at ages 13-14 years and again at 15-18 years. The predictors measured in the study fell into four categories: individual predictors, family predictors, school predictors, and neighborhood predictors. Analyses of the study's results indicate that early intervention programs aimed at preventing youth violence can lessen the effect of risk factors on the potential for later violence in youth. Implications for future research are discussed. Tables and references