Gangs and gang violence continue to be serious challenges throughout South Africa, but especially in cities such as Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. In the northern areas of Port Elizabeth, hardly a day goes by without at least 1 report in the local news media about gang-related incidents. Most of the gangs in the northern areas have organised and…

The introduction of mixed-income communities in public housing neighborhoods is a common revitalization strategy in metropolitan areas in North America. This study investigates student and teacher perspectives on safety in a Canadian inner city and marginalized neighborhood undergoing revitalization, alongside the redesign of a local school. The…

This article explores issues that had to be confronted over a three-year period in terms of two New York State funded grants for which I was the evaluator. Major, critical challenges are presented, described, and discussed. Specifically, the paper addresses issues related to lack of planning at the grant design stage that resulted in challenges…

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…

For decades Hip Hop cultural practices have been disparaged for allegedly inciting and being responsible for the eruption of urban violence. This assumption, likely built upon pre-existing biases regarding the street culture and ethnic minorities where Hip Hop emerged, ignored how some of the genre's main elements -- particularly freestyle rap,…

In addition to the potential loss of life, school shootings can evoke feelings of profound fear and anxiety that disturb a community's sense of safety and security. Questions have been raised about whether schools' approaches to addressing student behavior are a factor in school shootings. These approaches include discipline that removes the…

This comprehensive text, written by experts in each topical area, provides research-based approaches designed for work with youth in the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood. Developmental in its orientation, the text moves from population definition and identification, to causal factors and issues most often identified with placing…

Gang affiliation is not something that students leave behind when they come to school. Gang members do not leave their behaviors, attitudes, and conflicts outside the school environment. Gangs, unchecked and unidentified in a school setting, often engage in threat and intimidation; physical and cyber bullying; fighting; recruiting; and criminal…

HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk-reduction interventions are needed to address the complex risk behaviors among African-American female adolescents in disadvantaged communities in North Carolina. In a two-group randomized trial, we reached 237 sexually active, substance-using African-American female adolescents, to test a…

All forms of violence, including youth violence, suicidal behavior, child maltreatment, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse, negatively affect the health and well-being of this country. Youth violence, in particular, is a significant public health problem. Many young people and communities view the grim facts about youth…

Violence is a problem that affects the family structure, schools, and communities. Although some violence takes place behind closed doors, the effects are devastating to society and the community. The overwhelming results are seen with the increase of visits to abuse shelters and emergency rooms. Domestic violence in households tends to continue…

The Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) program is a gang- and delinquency-prevention program delivered by law enforcement officers within a school setting. Originally designed in 1991 by Phoenix-area law enforcement agencies to address local needs, the program quickly spread across the United States. In this article, we describe…

This paper describes the intervention model, early implementation experience, and challenges for the "Seguridad, Apoyo, Familia, Educacion, y Recursos" (SAFER) Latinos project. The SAFER Latinos project is an attempt to build the evidence for a multilevel participatory youth violence prevention model tailored to the specific circumstances of…

Background: Problems related to gangs have been noted in large cities and in many schools across the United States. This study examined the patterns of alcohol, drug use, and related exposures among male and female high school students who were gang members. Methods: Analyses were based on the Youth Violence Survey, conducted in 2004, and…

In this study I examine the critical factors and themes that are identified as salient influencers of overt and relational aggression among youth. Sex differences and similarities associated with such adolescent perceptions are assessed. Forty-eight ethnically diverse youth between the ages of 14 and 16 years participated in sex-specific focus…