| INTRODUCTION | REFERENCE | PERIODICAL ARTICLES | NON-PRINT |
| TOPIC ANALYSIS | BOOKS | INTERNET SOURCES | REVIEW |
"Who has not hoped
-- J. Bronowski
To outrage an enemy's dignity?
Who has not been
swept
By the wish to hurt?
And who has not thought that the impersonal
world
Deserves no better than to be destroyed
By one fabulous sign of his
displeasure?"
The recent outbreak of youth violence during the 1990's has led many to question the cause of youth violence in order to discover the best strategy for prevention. The increase in violent acts committed by youth was experienced internationally. The United States, Japan, and Canada are just some of the places where youth violence was on the rise.
In the United States the outbreak of school shootings demonstrated the urgent need to find a solution to the plague of youth violence. Experts from a variety of disciplines sought to find the answers to the questions so many asked. Although in-depth research has been conducted no definitive answer can be given.
Youth violence is a complex phenomenon caused by multiple factors. Because of this, no single strategy will suffice to prevent it.
National Center For Juvenile Justice
This organization conducts research and provides factual information concerning juveniles in order to improve the juvenile justice system
Society For Research On Adolescence
Dept. of Psychology
6526 N.
Sheridan Rd.
Loyola Univ.
Chicago, IL 60626
Maryse Richards, Exec.
Sec.
PH: (773)508-3007
FX: (773)508-3039
Email: socreasadol@luc.edu
This organization promotes the study and understanding of adolescence through research findings and information
"Distribution by age: of persons under 15, 18, 21, & 25." 1998 Crime in the United States:
Uniform Crime Reports. Federal Bureau of Investigation: U.S. Department of
Justice. 1999.
Lerner, R.M. and F.A. Villarruel. "Adolescence." International Encyclopedia of Developmental
and Instructional Psychology. Kidlington, Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd, 1996.
This article is an overview of adolescent development and the risks associated with becoming an adolescent. The authors readily admit that the majority of adolescent development research has been conducted only on European and United States middle-class youth. An attempt to present adolescent development from an unbiased global perspective with the limited sample studies that are available today is made. In an attempt to understand youth violence I would suggest reading this article to understand who it is we are studying, and how they develop. At the end of this article an extensive list of references is provided.
Glaser, Daniel et al. "Crime Causation" Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice.
New York: The Free Press, 1983.
This is an exhaustive work by eight seperate authors presenting the main theories of crime causation. The theories covered include: biological, economic, political, psychological, and sociological. There is no bias made by the authors, they are simply presenting a narrative report on the theories and studies that have been conducted through the course of time. Although the reference source is not specific to youth crime the majority of the information presented can be applied to youth as well as adults. This work is an important source for understanding the diversity of theories presented when considering the cause of youth violence. In the introduction the point is made that each theory should not be considered separately, instead the reader should consider the many interrelationships of all the theories.
Tunley, Roul. Kids, Crime and Chaos: A World Report on Juvenile Delinquency. New York:
Harper, 1962.
The author of this work is not a specialist in the field of psychology, sociology, or criminology; in fact, he was chosen to write this book by the Greater Philadelphia Movement Juvenile Delinquency Committee precisely because he was not any of these things. The committee wanted a fresh, unbiased perspective that the general public could understand. The author was a reporter who knew very little about the subject when he began his research. He explains juvenile delinquency from a global perspective. In order to attain a global viewpoint he traveled across the globe and studied other cultures and how they dealt with youth violence in their communities. He focuses these studies mainly on those communities who have dealt effectively with juvenile delinquency and explains the systems they have used in order to attain this success. Although this book was written in 1962, almost all of the ideas presented can be used to understand the problems and solutions regarding youth violence today.
Zimring, Franklin E. American Youth Violence. New York: Oxford UP, 1998.
Some readers may view this author as a biased reporter because he points out that youth crime and violence have been overplayed in the media and in political arenas. His opinion is that this "alarmist theory" is responsible for the vast changes that have recently been made in juvenile criminal courts. Although this article might be viewed as biased the author presents extensive evidence supporting his theory. This work is important in understanding the effects of the "perceived problem" of youth violence in the United States today.
Perry, Bruce D. "Why?" Junior Scholastic. 10 Apr 2000: ProQuest Direct.
Seattle Central Community College Lib. 23 May 2000 <http://proquest.umi.com/>.
"Dr. Perry is the Chief of Psychiatry at Texas Children's Hospital and The Trammel Research Professor of Child Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine. He and his team at the Child Trauma Programs work each day with children and teens touched by violence." This article is direct and to the point in discussing the solutions for youth violence. The intended audiences of this work include children, teens, and educators of children and teens. The authors opinion is that respect will solve the problem of youth violence. Respect others, respect yourself, respect the fragility of life and the destructive power of weapons, the reader is told, and youth violence will cease. A lesson plan for educators is also presented.
Johnston, Charles. "The Gift of Youth." IN CONTEXT: A Quartery of Humane Sustainable
Culture. Winter 1995/1996: SIRS Knowledge Source. Seattle Central Community College
Library. 23 May 2000 <http://sks.sirs.com/>.
Dr Charles is a psychiatrist and futurist who is a director of The Institute For Creative Development. The opinion of Dr. Johnston is that youth homicide is a reflection of cultural impoverishment. Homicide rates, he explains, "reflect a lack of hope, a doubt that life has worth..." Acting as good role models, encouraging roles in society for youth, and letting "kids be kids" are some solutions suggested by Dr. Johnston.
Tubbs, Walter. "The roots of stress-death and juvenile delinquency in Japan: Disciplinary
ambivalence and perceived locus of control." Journal of Buisness Ethics. 13.7
(1994): 24 pars. 28 Mar 2000 .
"Dr. Walter Tubbs received his Ph.D. in Neuropsychology and Philosophy after doing work at Stanford and Drew Universities. He has been in Japan for 11 years as a Senior Researcher in the Theoretical Section of the Research Department at The Institute of Moralogy in Kashiwa-city, Chiba." This article is an extensive report explaining the cause of youth violence and suicide in Japan. This article is important because it presents theories pertaining to a culture other than the United States. Self control, and locus of control are the main theories presented for the cause of youth violence, an idea not often addressed in the culture of the United States.
Noguera, Pedro. Reducing and Preventing Youth Violence: An Analysis of Causes and an
Assessment of Successful Programs. 28 Apr 1996. In Motion Magazine. 30 May 2000
<In Motion Magazine>.
"Dr Pedro Noquera is a professor of education at the University of California, Berkely." This article is an in-depth analysis of the causes and solutions pertaining to youth violence. This site is a series of hyperlinked articles including sections on "Why Getting Tough Hasn't Worked" and "Searching For The Cause(s) of Youth VIolence." Dr. Noguera addresses the findings of psychologists, criminologists, and epidemiologists. He also presents three case studies involving strategies that have been successful in reducing youth violence.
Is Youth Violence Just Another Fact of Life? 29 May 2000. American Psychological
Association. 30 May 2000 <American Psychological Association>.
The American Psychological Association focuses on the theory that violence is a learned behavior. The theory presented here is that violence is first learned by the family, and extends into society. This article is especially important because it presents the generally accepted view of many psychologists who are intimitaly involved in the decision making process of how we as a society will respond to youth violence.
United States Dept. of Justice. Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquence Prevention. Juvenile
Justice Facts and Figures. May 2000. 5 June 2000
<http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.org/facts/facts.html>.
This is a governemental database that provides a series of hyperlinks to "the latest facts and figures on juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, and violence and victimization." This is an excellent source for any person looking for statistics from more than just one source.
In the beginning of my search I started out very broad. My main intent was to explain the cause of youth violence. I began by typing in the words youth and violence in search engines such as Altavista and AskJeeves. The majority of the information I found using this strategy involved the recent school shootings in the United States. As the search continued I realized that there were many more information sources available on the internet besides just search engines. I discovered online libraries, periodical databases, and much more. I also searched in on-ground libraries, using Library of Congress subject headings through the online catalogs made available through the internet. In the end I found that the best search strategies for finding information on my topic included using subject headings and at least three key words.
I found all kinds of information in relation to the topic of youth violence, how it is caused, and prevention strategies. I felt that books were the best source of information on this topic due to the complexity that is involved. An entire book allows the researcher to present his or her findings in-depth. Periodicals provided the most current information available, the majority of the information in periodicals related to the recent school shootings in the United States. Although, some of the scholarly journals did present possible causes and solutions. The internet included a huge variety of information including, governemental databases, personal websites, organizational websites, and much, much more. Although the internet provided all of this information it took some time to sort through allof it. Many of the sources I found on the Internet could not have been found elsewhere, nor could they have been accessed so easily.
When I started the research on my topic I truly thought that I would be able to find one single reason why youth violence occurs. I think that many other researchers think the same thing when they search for the cause of youth violence. When I went in search of books pertaining to this topic I found that many dated back to the early 1950's. This is when I began to understand that no matter how much research is done no single reason will be found. Youth violence can be compared to the common cold, it is caused by numerous different "viruses", due to this there is no single "cure" for youth violence. Instead of focusing more effort and funds on research, the focus should be on establishing the many preventative methods that have already been suggested based on the research that has previously been conducted.
Please send comments to Melissa Covenant