Violence is a voluntary and learned behavior. Young people are increasingly affected by violence, as perpetrators, victims and involuntary observers. Whether the violence is at home, on school property, on a date, at the movies, in a video game or over the airways, homicide, suicide, sexual violence and domestic abuse have become unavoidable points of reference in the lives of adolescents.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, youth violence is an ongoing national problem, but one that is largely hidden from public view. Nationally, over the past two decades, the number of violent acts by high school seniors has increased by nearly 50 percent, a trend similar to that found in arrests for violent crimes. These acts may never show up in police records, especially if they do not involve firearms. Nationally, neither this incidence rate nor the proportion of high school seniors involved in violence has declined in the years since 1993, they remain at peak levels.
More than a decade has passed since Colorado's "Summer of Violence," in 1993, when 36 teens were killed in homicides. Homicide rates for Colorado teens had been declining before the shootings at Columbine High School in 1999 created an artificial spike in youth homicide rates. Yet homicide remains the third leading cause of death for Colorado teens following car crashes and suicide. Adolescent homicides represent only a small part of youth physical violence; injuries related to physical assaults, sexual violence and child abuse far outnumber actual homicides.
During the last decade, research on adolescent risk behaviors has focused on risks and protective factors for youth violence and intentional injury. As with other risk behaviors, factors that make youth more vulnerable to violence are often interrelated and involve family, social/environmental and personal/psychological factors.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, identifying and understanding how protective factors operate is potentially as important to violence prevention and intervention efforts as research on risk factors. In his report on youth violence, the Surgeon General identified only two protective factors- "an intolerant attitude toward deviance" and commitment to school- as having shown a significant, though small, protective effect on risk factors for youth violence.
Adolescents whose attitudes are antithetical to violence are unlikely to become involved in activities that could lead to violence or to associate with peers who are delinquent or violent. Adolescents with a strong commitment to school are unlikely to engage in violence, "because it is incompatible with their orientation and because it would jeopardize their achievement in school and their standing with adults." However, the Surgeon General cautioned that "schools with a culture of violence may be unable to exert their very important protective function."
The Surgeon General's report identified other proposed protective factors- positive social orientation, high IQ, positive relations with adults, friends as models for conventional behaviors and involvement in conventional activities. However, the research has linked these variables with buffering youth antisocial behavior or serious delinquency, but not necessarily youth violence.
BEST PRACTICES
Parents - Parents are their children's first teachers. Raising young children to be adolescents who are able to resolve conflicts peacefully starts by talking to kids about violence and listening to them when disagreements arise.
School - Successful violence prevention programs for teens have several common traits: define aggression broadly; promote a positive school climate; promote social competence through interaction, practice through role-playing and rehearsal; and insist on a climate that will not tolerate bullying, violence or aggression.
Sharing Information on Youth at Risk - In 2000, the Colorado legislature passed laws that permit exchange of information to assist disruptive children and maintain safe schools, sanctioning open communication among appropriate agencies, including schools, criminal justice, assessment centers, school districts, mental health and human services. This means that schools, law enforcement and others no longer need to operate in isolation when working with youth at risk.
Anti-Bullying - In 2002, Colorado's Governor signed the Colorado Bullying Prevention Law, which requires each school district to include a policy in the district's conduct and discipline code concerning bullying prevention. New approaches for management of aggressive behavior are growing for schools.
Sexual Violence - Successful prevention strategies include prevention education for youth and parents; training for health care professionals and teachers; and implementing intensive programs for youth at higher risk for becoming victims or perpetrators of sexual violence
It is important to note that violence prevention goes beyond simply instituting zero tolerance policies.
For more information, please contact via email:
Taylor Moore or by telephone (303) 692-2304.
Violence is a voluntary and learned behavior. Young people are increasingly affected by violence, as perpetrators, victims and involuntary observers. Whether the violence is at home, on school property, on a date, at the movies, in a video game or over the airways, homicide, suicide, sexual violence and domestic abuse have become unavoidable points of reference in the lives of adolescents. 
