Objectives: Given the high rates at which adolescents engage in violence, the strong link between adolescent and adult violence, and the financial and social costs of violence, the prevention of violent behavior is a national priority. Methods: The authors conducted a comprehensive review of evaluations utilizing quasi-experimental or experimental…

Although most of the national concern about violence has focused on major cities, no community is free from violence. Violent acts in suburbs, small towns, and rural areas may not be as severe as in urban areas, yet they exist. The Profiles of Student Life survey of 47,000 students in grades 6-12 included questions about violent behavior. The…

Reports the findings of Frank Zimring, director of the University of Chicago's Center for Criminal Justice, that the rate of four types of serious youth crime (homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) began to level off around 1970 and may now be declining. (SJL)

Fear over violence in schools has prompted increased requests for psychologists, educators, and law enforcement professionals to assist in preventing future school violence incidents. Attempts to lay a foundation for developing effective assessment and prevention approaches by first distinguishing planned school-based attacks from other forms of…

Youthful antisocial behavior is often viewed as a precursor to later violent behavior. Examines the assertion that aggressive reaction patterns in males over time approach the stability of intelligence by studying evidence from 82 reports of prospective studies. Analysis finds considerably more modest relationships between earlier antisocial…

Professional and government committees are examining use of physical restraints with troubled youth as a result of reports of problems with its use. Examples of what is being done to improve practice standards in area of crisis intervention include limiting how often restrictive procedures can be use; stating the technique must never negatively…

A young person showing strong destructive symptoms often has too much hatred toward adults, other authorities, and society for the "voice of reason" to penetrate or reach some fixed point in his or her psyche. Music, however, activates emotions raising problems of the real field of life to be dealt with in symbolic form. This paper discusses the…

This paper presents a broad overview of information about delinquency, crime, and school discipline and violence in relation to U.S. youths. Part 1 compares U.S. and West Germany's crime rates for 1980-1985, while part 2 focuses on U.S. juvenile crime facts and on the contribution of the increasing number of U.S. family breakdowns to juvenile…

The author shares five basic conclusions about why boys turn to violence, and provides suggestions parents and professionals can use in their efforts to save them and make schools and communities safer places for all youth. (Author)

School psychologists are often asked to respond to student violence based on incomplete information about the nature and scope of these problems. Compares the methods and findings of three national surveys of students to understand what methodological characteristics have the most salient impact on their findings. Results suggest that student…

Describes the relationship between school behaviors and youth characteristics in school, and referrals to juvenile authorities. Describes a strategy of using teacher nominations, school discipline referrals, and community arrest data to predict delinquent and violent behavior in youth. Outlines data from a group of socially maladjusted youth to…

Uses a review-of-reviews approach across four areas (substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, school failure, and juvenile delinquency and violence) to identify characteristics consistently associated with effective prevention programs. Programs were comprehensive, included varied teaching methods, provided sufficient dosage, were theory driven,…

Reviews data concerning the rate of offending and the rate of victimization among children and adolescents, highlighting the lack of comprehensive national data on victimization. Children and adolescents are at substantially greater risk, on the basis of statistical incidence, for the commission of "nuisance offenses" than for serious…

Addresses the nature of youth violence and its connection to school violence, reviews actions taken as a response to school violence, and identifies the impact violence and its counter-measures have had on the school community. Suggests that educators focus on increasing the sense of community within their schools as both a response to school…

Youth gangs are not a new phenomena in the United States; however, in the past decade the number of gang members has increased dramatically. Gang prevention-intervention programs are a necessary part of every school's curriculum. Students join gangs for a variety of reasons ranging from boredom to intent on criminal behavior. One characteristic…