Students, families, and communities across Chicago are affected by gun violence, but the levels and experiences differ greatly by location and by the racial composition of communities. In Chicago, recent rates of violence rose sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, and then declined to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Still, there were more than 4,000…

This study explored racial differences in internalizing and externalizing problems among minority adolescents in impoverished urban communities. The study centered on a sample of 211 participants who were engaged in the 2018 Building Resilience Against Violence Engagement (BRAVE) programs. Their internalizing and externalizing problems were…

Youth living in violent urban neighborhoods increasingly post messages online from urban street corners. The decline of the digital divide and the proliferation of social media platforms connect youth to peer communities who may share experiences with neighborhood stress and trauma. Social media can also be used for targeted retribution when…

This exploratory case study examines the National Youth Art Movement Against Gun Violence intervention launched in Chicago in 2017 that used public art and new media creation to engage youth in activism for gun violence prevention. Five African American and Latino youth artists participated in the program; the study focuses on three of the…

The Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235) provides $75 million for the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI). This Initiative, originally launched and funded at the same amount in FY 2014, is overseen by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), U.S. Department of…

In order to define her educational philosophy, the author created the following action research project. Through it, she became aware of how all interactions and experiences each one has, no matter at what stage in life, impacts the way one thinks, feels, and acts differently. She challenged herself to create an environment for the children to…

This study examined multiple risk behaviors (violence, delinquency, and substance use) among 240 African American and 262 Hispanic preadolescent boys from urban schools in the Midwest United States. Latent transition analysis allowed patterns of multivariate risk to emerge uniquely within and across these ethnic groups, highlighting patterns for…

Federal investments in education are crucial to preventing youth from entering the criminal justice system and to reducing youth violence and criminal activity. Promoting access to cradle-to-career education is one of the foremost strategies for preventing youth violence and delinquency. Long-term studies of programs nationwide have found that…

Improving the long-term life outcomes of disadvantaged youth remains a top policy priority in the United States, although identifying successful interventions for adolescents--particularly males--has proven challenging. This paper reports results from a large randomized controlled trial of an intervention for disadvantaged male youth grades 7-10…

Studied how participation in street violence as part of criminal/delinquent behavior relates to violence within dating or marital relationships. Found that subjects were more likely to report use of violence in relationships if they were also participating in violence as part of other criminal behavior. However, half the 141 subjects had not…

Summarizes violence prevention programs and activities in five urban school systems. Chicago schools have hired their own security staffs, use cameras in hallways, and provide character education, peer mediation, and mentoring sessions. Buffalo and Memphis schools stress tight security measures and weapons confiscation. Baltimore schools and…

When youth lack a value system, violence becomes an acceptable activity with no need for accountability. The traditional close-knit family that taught youngsters right from wrong and expected them to act accordingly has disappeared. Ameliorative school programs in South Carolina and Chicago are described. A sidebar describes Robert Coles's 1989…

Describes a violence prevention program called "Choosing Non-Violence" (CNV) incorporated into Chicago Head Start and Title XX Day Care in 1988. Children, teachers, and parents learn to apply three key concepts of CNV: (1) the understanding and recognition of violence; (2) the power of personal choice and self-control; and (3) the power…