Risk Factors for Youth Violence
When we say that something is a "risk factor" for youth violence, we mean that when that factor is present, a child is at greater risk for becoming violent. Risk factors can be characteristics of the individual child, the child's relationship with family or peers, the child's school, or the child's environment.
Risk factors for youth violence include:
- Individual factors (such as a difficult temperament as an infant, low intelligence, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and attention problems)[1]
- Home factors (such as a lack of parental emotional support and involvement, little parental monitoring of activities, and harsh and inconsistent discipline).[2]
- Peer factors (such as peer rejection in childhood or friendships with antisocial peers during the teenage years).[3,4]
- School factors (such as poor school achievement and school failure)[5,6]
- Community and societal factors (such as poverty, joblessness, discrimination, societal acceptance of aggression, exposure to violence in the community or media, and easy availability of drugs, alcohol and weapons in the neighborhood).[7,8,9]
Typically, the more risk factors present in a child's life, the higher the likelihood that a child or teen will tend to act aggressively. Different risk factors take on a greater or lesser importance at different stages of a child's life. While family factors appear to play an important role in the development of aggression in young children, the role of friends and peers becomes much more crucial during the teen years.[10]
Although many children are exposed to one or more of these risk factors, only a small number of children become highly aggressive. Researchers have proposed a number of "protective factors", such as a commitment to school and a positive relationship with a supportive adult, which may shield children and teens from developing aggressive behavior, even in the presence of a number of risk factors.[11] Interventions that seek to increase protective factors and reduce risk factors can significantly reduce aggressive behavior in children and teens.
Researchers have identified a number of factors that increase children and teens' risk for becoming involved in serious violence during the teenage years. For children under 13, the most important factors include: early involvement in serious criminal behavior, early substance use, being male, a history of physical aggression toward others, low parent education levels or poverty, and parent involvement in illegal activities.[12]
Once a child becomes a teenager, different factors predict involvement in serious violence. Friends and peers are much more important for teens, and friendships with antisocial or delinquent peers, membership in a gang, and involvement in other criminal activity are the most important predictors of serious violence for teenagers.[13]
Teens that commit acts of serious violence are often involved in other types of criminal behavior and often live a lifestyle that involves a number of risky behaviors, including using drugs, carrying weapons, driving recklessly, and having unsafe sex.[14]
Also see our fact sheet, Risk and Protective Factors for Youth Violence
- Pepler, D.J. & Slaby, R.G. (1994). Theoretical and developmental perspectives on youth and violence. In L.D. Eron, J.H. Gentry, & P. Schlegel (Eds.), Reason to Hope: A Psychosocial Perspective on Youth and Violence, pp. 37-38.
- Pepler, D.J. & Slaby, R.G. (1994). Theoretical and developmental perspectives on youth and violence. In L.D. Eron, J.H. Gentry, & P. Schlegel (Eds.), Reason to Hope: A Psychosocial Perspective on Youth and Violence, pp. 39-41.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, p.67.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, p.70.
- Hawkins, J.D., Von Cleve, E., & Catalano, R.F. (1991). Reducing early childhood aggression: Results of a primary prevention program. American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 208-217.
- Tremblay, R., Masse, B., Perron, D., LeBlanc, M.,Schwartzman, A., & Ledingham, J. (1992). Early disruptive behavior, poor school achievement, delinquent behavior, and delinquent personality: Longitudinal analyses. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 60, 64-72.
- Hann, D.A. & Borek, N. (2002). Taking Stock of Risk Factors for Child/Youth Externalizing Behavior Problems, National Institute of Mental Health, pp. 99-100.
- Coie, J. D., & Dodge, K. A. (1997). Aggression and antisocial behavior. In W. V. Damon (Ed.), Handbook of child development: Vol. 3. Social, emotional and personality development (5th ed.). New York: J. Wiley, p. 815.
- Howell, J.C. (ed.). (1995). Guide for Implementing the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice, pp. 18-20.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, p. 12.
- Earls, F.J. (1994). Violence and today's youth. Critical Issues for Children and Youth, 4, 4-23.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, pp. 63-67.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, pp. 67-71.
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2001). Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General, p. 49.