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Youth Violence—Prevention—articles

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A Guide to Addressing Teen Dating Violence and Sexual Assault in a School Setting

added 06/11/2008
Peace Over Violence with assistance from the California Women's Law Center for the Crime and Violence Prevention Center, California Attorney General's Office (February 2008)

"This guide details schools' responsibility to take a leadership role to prevent and respond to teen dating and sexual violence in schools and in the community. While the information is specific to California, much can be applied nationally."

Addressing the Problem of Juvenile Bullying

added 08/17/2001
Nels Ericson, a Senior Writer-Editor in OJJDP's Information Dissemination and Planning Unit

2-page Fact Sheet posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The Fact Sheet describes bullying and its effects and provides information about the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, which is designed to reduce bullying among elementary, middle, and junior high school children.

An Evaluation of Safe Dates, an Adolescent Dating Violence Prevention Program

added 08/24/2007
Vangie Foshee, Karl Bauman, Ximena Arriaga, Russell Helms, Gary Koch, & George Fletcher Linder

This paper presents the results of a program focused on preventing violence among teenage dating partners. Decreased violence was perpetrated against a dating partner for those who participated in the program compared to a control group.

Other formats: pdf

Benefits and Costs of Prevention and Early Intervention Programs for Youth

added 12/05/2007
Steve Aos, Roxanne Lieb, Jim Mayfield, Marna Miller, and Annie Pennucci

"This report describes findings and analysis regarding the cost-effectiveness of research-based prevention and early intervention programs for youth with a demonstrated ability to achieve 7 outcomes including reduction in child abuse and domestic violence."

Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action

added 07/21/2006
 

Best Practices is the first of its kind to look at the effectiveness of specific violence prevention practices in four key areas: parents and families; home visiting; social and conflict resolution skills; and mentoring. These programs are drawn from real-world experiences of professionals and advocates who have successfully worked to prevent violence among children and adolescents. As a CDC publication, the sourcebook also documents the science behind each best practice and offers a comprehensive directory of resources for more information about programs that have used these practices.

This publication is out of print and only available electronically. Copia en Espanol en .pdf

Other formats: pdf

Blueprints for Violence Prevention

added 10/30/2006
 

This report by the OJJDP describes 11 model programs and 21 promising programs that demonstrated evidence of effectiveness in delinquency, violence, and substance abuse prevention and reduction. The report describes the Blueprints programs, presents lessons learned about program implementation and provides recommendations for program designers, funders, and implementing agencies and organizations.

Other formats: pdf

Causing Pain: Real Stories of Dating Abuse and Violence (video)

added 01/29/2007
 

A 30-minute video containing true stories of teens, parents, and professionals who have been in or witnessed abusive relationships. They describe their experiences and insights so that teens and parents can recognize and prevent dating abuse in their own lives or in the lives of their friends.

Child Abuse and Safety Web Videos by Marc Klaas

added 08/06/2008
Marc Klaas

This site offers useful information on child safety in the home and in cyberspace.

Community Action Kit - "Helping Preteens and Teens Build Healthy Relationships" (pdf)

added 01/29/2007
Choose Respect Campaign - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Presents information and resources for adults and parents to help reduce dating violence.

Creating Safe Environments: Violence Prevention Strategies and Programs

added 08/09/2006
Patti Culross, Larry Cohen, Ashby Wolfe , and Joanne Ruby

This document addresses the increased need for specific primary prevention programs of various types of violence. Gang-violence, Sexual Violence, Adolescent and Adult Intimate Partner Violence, as well as others are addressed. Specific examples of promising programs and practices currently in existence throughout the United States are detailed.

Other formats: pdf

Detecting the Potential for Violence

added 04/29/1999
Dr. Jane Gilgun, University of Minnesota

Checklist for Detecting the Potential for Violence is also available.

Other formats: plaintext • pdf

Development and Evaluation of School-Based Violence Prevention Programs (pdf)

added 08/24/2007
Albert D. Farrell, Aleta L. Meyer, Eva M. Kung, & Terri N. Sullivan

This article reviews practical issues in the development of school-based violence prevention programs.

Diverting Children from a Life of Crime

added 07/19/1996
 

Diverting Children from a Life of Crime: Measuring Costs and Benefits is a study from Rand, a public policy organization. The report looks at several prevention strategies to reduce youth involvement in the juvenile justice system. A few of the approaches studied are also utilized as child abuse prevention efforts.

Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, and Youth Violence: Strategies for Prevention and Early Intervention

added 03/09/1999
Janet Carter

Another Family Violence Prevention Fund publication that argues for a collaborative, community-based approach to combatting child abuse, domestic violence and youth violence.

Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, and Youth Violence: Strategies for Prevention and Early Intervention

added 04/30/2008
Janet Carter

Another Family Violence Prevention Fund publication that argues for a collaborative, community-based approach to combatting child abuse, domestic violence and youth violence.

Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature (pdf)

added 06/16/2005
Charol Shakeshaft

This literature review of sexual abuse and sexual misconduct responds to the mandate in Section 5414 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, to conduct a study of sexual abuse in U.S. schools. To satisfy this mandate, the Department of Education contracted with Dr. Charol Shakeshaft of Hofstra University. Using the limited research that is available in this area, her literature review describes, among other topics: prevalence of educator sexual misconduct, offender characteristics, targets of educator sexual misconduct, and recommendations for prevention of educator sexual misconduct.

Evaluating G.R.E.A.T : A School-Based Gang Prevention Program (pdf)

added 07/21/2006
USDOJ

Typical programs are directed at active gang members, and most target youths who are at risk for joining gangs. The G.R.E.A.T. program, in contrast, is presented to entire classrooms without attempting to predict which students are most likely to become involved with a gang. G.R.E.A.T. is aimed at middle school students and seeks to (1) reduce their involvement in gangs and delinquent behavior, (2) teach them consequences of gang involvement, and (3) help them develop positive relations with law enforcement. These three objectives are addressed through a nine hour curriculum taught in schools by uniformed law enforcement officers. Students are taught to set positive goals, resist negative pressures, resolve conflicts, and understand how gangs impact the quality of their lives. This report summarizes results of a five year study of the G.R.E.A.T. program. The study revealed that G.R.E.A.T. has modest positive effects on adolescents' attitudes and delinquency risk factors but no effects on their involvement in gangs and actual delinquent behaviors.

Evaluation of Violence Prevention Programs in Middle Schools

added 05/02/1996
 

This 1995 report is found on the website of the National Justice Information Center.

From the Courthouse to the Schoolhouse: Making a Successful Transition

added 03/27/2000
Ronald D. Stephens and June Lane Arnette

A 16-page bulletin from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). This Bulletin describes effective approaches to reintegrating youth from juvenile justice system settings into the education mainstream and provides information about promising programs, practices, and resources.

Guide for Preventing and Responding to School Violence (pdf)

added 10/03/2001

Outlines strategies and approaches for members of school communities to consider when creating safer learning environments. Offers guideance for school violence prevention and response in the following areas: preventing student violence, preparing a threat assessment strategy, planning and training for actual crises, responding to a crisis, considering legal and legislative issues, and covering the crisis in the media. A list of Web sites pertaining to school safety and violence reduction is included.

Healing the Hate: A National Hate Crime Prevention Curriculum (pdf)

added 10/03/2001
Karen A. McLaughlin and Kelly J. Brilliant for the Education Development Center, Inc.

Originally designed to be used in classroom settings, these materials have also proven useful in a variety of other venues: working with youth who commit hate crimes, working with schools experiencing specific bias crime problems, in after-school programs, and in teacher training settings.

Helping to Prevent Child Abuse and Future Criminal Consequences: Hawaii's Healthy Start (pdf)

added 05/02/1996
 

This is an October, 1995 paper posted by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service. This article discusses ways to prevent child abuse through a novel program in Hawaii. A focus on criminal consequences should child abuse continue to be ignored is also provided.

Homicides of Children and Youth

added 04/22/2002
Finkelhor, D., and Ormrod, R. for Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

October 2001 Bulletin report. Provides a statistical portrait of juvenile homicide victimization by drawing on FBI and other data. As part of OJJDP's Crimes Against Children Series, the Bulletin offers detailed information about overall crime patterns and victim age groups. Specific types of juvenile homicide, including maltreatment homicides, abduction homicides, and school homicides, are discussed in further detail. The Bulletin also explores initiatives designed to prevent homicides of children and youth.

Impact of a Comprehensive School-Based Prevention Program: Changes in Adolescents' Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviour Related to Violence, Sexual Behaviour and Substance Use

added 06/30/2006
David A. Wolfe, Claire Crooks, Debbie Chiodo, Ray Hughes & Peter Jaffe

This preliminary evaluation of The Fourth R comprehensive school program is based on a randomized controlled trial with 20 schools in the Thames Valley District School Board in London, Ontario Canada.

Other formats: pdf

Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools, 2nd Edition

added 07/21/2006
Dahlberg LL, Toal SB, Swahn M, & Behrens CB.

"This compendium provides researchers and prevention specialists with a set of tools to assess violence-related beliefs, behaviors, and influences, as well as to evaluate programs to prevent youth violence. If you are new to the field of youth violence prevention and unfamiliar with available measures, you may find this compendium to be particularly useful. If you are an experienced researcher, this compendium may serve as a resource to identify additional measures to assess the factors associated with violence among youths. Most of the measures in this compendium are intended for use with youths between the ages of 11 and 24 years, to assess such factors as serious violent and delinquent behavior, conflict resolution strategies, social and emotional competencies, peer influences, parental monitoring and supervision, family relationships, exposure to violence, collective efficacy, and neighborhood characteristics. The compendium also contains a number of scales and assessments developed for use with children between the ages of 5 and 10 years, to measure factors such as aggressive fantasies, beliefs supportive of aggression, attributional biases, prosocial behavior, and aggressive behavior. When parent and teacher versions of assessments are available, they are included as well." - CDC & NCIPC

Other formats: pdf

Nine Critical Elements of Promising Violence Prevention Programs

added 08/24/2007
Linda Dusenbury, Mathea Falco, Antonia Lake, Rosalind Brannigan, Kris Bosworth

The purpose of this article was "to identify approaches to school based violence prevention that are the most promising and those that may not be effective."

Our Vulnerable Teenagers: Their Victimization, Its Consequences and Direction for Intervention and Prevention (pdf)

added 02/21/2003

Note: This document may take a few moments to load completely. This joint report by the National Center and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency analyzes existing, but largely unnoticed, research and data on the crime experiences of teenagers, ages 12 to 19, who make up 14 percent of the general population, but represent 25 percent of victims of violent crime. The report also outlines promising prevention and intervention strategies.

Our Vulnerable Teenagers: Their Victimization, Its Consequences, and Directions for Prevention and Intervention

added 06/30/2006
NCVC & NCCD

The report provides a review of existing research on teen victimization and its impact on youth in America as well as information on promising prevention and intervention techniques.

Other formats: pdf

Pathways to School Improvement

added 04/19/1996

A page offering research based information on creating safe and drug-free schools. The sections "at risk" and "safe and drug free" provide the most information.

Other formats: html

Preventing Adolescent Gang Involvement

added 01/04/2001
Finn-Aage Esbensen

12-page Bulletin is posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). This Bulletin examines the youth gang problem in the larger context of juvenile violence. While there are no simple solutions to ending the youth gang problem, the Bulletin provides the reader with information to better understand its complexity, while dispelling common gang stereotypes. The Bulletin offers a solid foundation on which to build a comprehensive strategy to prevent youth gang involvement.

Preventing Delinquency Through Improved Child Protection Services (pdf)

added 02/14/2002

2001 Bulletin examines a potentially powerful, yet often overlooked, delinquency prevention strategy: efforts to reduce the incidence of childhood maltreatment.

Preventing Student Sexual Harassment

added 03/06/2001
Wendy Schwartz, Teachers College, Columbia University

December 2000 report posted on the Eric Clearinghouse on Urban Education.

Preventing Substance Abuse in Hispanic Immigrant Adolescents: An Ecodevelopmental, Parent-Centered Approach

added 08/19/2008
Hilda Pantin, Seth J. Schwartz, Summer Sullivan, J. Douglas Coatsworth and José Szapocznik

"This article discusses the challenges that Hispanic immigrant families face and reviews the potential negative consequences of these challenges for Hispanic adolescents. The article outlines the theoretical background, goals, and intervention components of Familias Unidas, a substance-abuse-prevention program for poor immigrant Hispanic adolescents and their parents. Familias Unidas is an ecodevelopmentally based, parent-centered intervention delivered by way of parent participatory-learning groups, parent-adolescent discussion circles, and periodic home visits."

Preventing Violence by Elementary School Children

added 03/06/2001
Wendy Schwartz, Teachers College, Columbia University

November 1999 report posted on the Eric Clearinghouse on Urban Education.

Preventing Violence in Our Schools

added 05/18/1999

Resource that gives advice and resources to parents and educators on preventing youth violence.

Preventing Youth Hate Crimes: A Manual for Schools and Communities, 1998

added 10/03/2001

Promotes the discussion, planning, immediate action, and long-term responses of hate crime to assist schools and communities in confronting and eliminating harassment, intimidation, violence, and other hate-motivated behavior among young people.

Preventing Youth Violence in Schools: An Essay Collection (pdf)

added 12/17/1996
 

A collection of articles edited by Wendy Schwartz. Included in the collection is the article "Gang Activity at School: Prevention Strategies" by Shirley Lal. These resources are found on the ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education.

Prevention of Serious and Violent Juvenile Offending

added 04/25/2000
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)

Prevention of Serious and Violent Juvenile Offending is a 15-page Bulletin by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). This Bulletin describes some of the developmental precursors to such offending and offers effective approaches to its prevention that are family, parent, and child focused. Examples of well-designed intervention programs are also provided.

Other formats: pdf

Public Health Policy for Preventing Violence (pdf)

added 08/24/2007
James Mercy, Mark Rosenberg, Kenneth Powell, Claire Broome, & William Roper

"In this paper we discuss the new vision for violence prevention embodied in the public health approach."

Race, Ethnicity, and Serious and Violent Juvenile Offending

added 10/03/2001
Darnell F. Hawkins, John H. Laub, Janet L. Lauritsen, and Lynn Cothern

June 2000. Discusses racial and ethnic differences in the rates of serious and violent offending among juveniles. Discribes various data sources and notes their relative strengths and weaknesses for purposes of identifying racial and ethnic patterns. Summarizes statistics on national trends in juvenile offending by race and ethnicity, discusses research findings on racial and ethnic differences among chronic offenders, and offers various explanations of the patterns observed. It also presents recommendations for understanding these patterns and discusses implications for prevention and intervention efforts.

Relationship Abuse Prevention Program (RAPP)

added 10/30/2006
 

This school-based domestic violence prevention curiculum teaches students to recognize and prevent teen relationship abuse. Lesson plans include a variey of exercises. Parent workshop information and school staff development materials are also included.

Resolving conflict creatively: Evaluating the developmental effects of a school-based violence prevention program in neighborhood and classroom context

added 08/24/2007
J. Lawrence Aber, Stephanie Jones, Joshua Brown, Nina Chaudry, & Faith Samples

"This study evaluated the short-term impact of a school-based violence prevention initiative on developmental processes thought to place children at risk for future aggression and violence and examined the influence of classrooms and neighborhood contexts on the effectiveness of the violence prevention initiative."

Safe Harbor: A School-Based Victim Assistance/Violence Prevention Program

added 07/15/2003

The Safe Harbor program addresses violence prevention and victim assistance in school-based settings.

School Violence Prevention: Strategies to Keep Schools Safe

added 11/19/2001
Alexander Volokh with Lisa Snell

Policy Study No. 234, January 1998. Posted by the Reason Foundation. Discusses the many faces of violence and the different methods of violence prevention.

School Violence: Prevalence, Fears, and Prevention

added 02/08/2002
Jaana Juvonen, Rand Education

2001 paper. Describes the options that are currently available for schools. An analysis of the key components of various approaches in terms of their potential positive and negative effects can assist in the selection of policies, programs, and procedures while we wait for evaluations to be conducted.

Second Chances: Giving Kids a Chance To Make a Better Choice (pdf)

added 11/02/2000
OJJDP's Juvenile Court Centennial Initiative

28-page Bulletin posted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Drawing on a recently published book, "Second Chances 100 Years of the Children's Court: Giving Kids a Chance To Make a Better Choice," the Bulletin profiles successful "graduates" of the juvenile justice system.

Teen Dating Violence: A Review of Risk Factors and Prevention Efforts (pdf)

added 12/15/2005
Maura O'Keefe

This article provides a critical review of the dating violence literature with respect to potential risk factors for both perpetrators and victims and examines the empirical research regarding the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs targeting teen dating violence. The document also provides recommendations for future research and potential policy implications.

Other formats: html

Teen Dating Violence: Information and Resources (pdf)

added 12/15/2005
 

This is an information packet developed by the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) as an introduction to the dynamics, prevalence and consequences of teen dating violence. The packet explores issues specific to teen dating violence, examines current provision of support services for teens and presents information about a variety of promising prevention /intervention strategies. The intent of packet contents is to examine some of the key dating violence issues currently facing teens and their advocates.

The Comprehensive Strategy: Lessons Learned From the Pilot Sites

added 03/30/2000
Kathleen Coolbaugh and Cynthia J. Hansel

This is a 12-page Bulletin from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Derived from extensive research, the OJJDP's Comprehensive Strategy was developed to assist States and local communities in preventing at-risk youth from becoming serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders and in crafting an appropriate response to those who do. This Bulletin offers an overview of the Comprehensive Strategy, describes its implementation in the three pilot sites, and discusses the lessons learned in that process.

The Effectiveness of Universal School-Based Programs for the Prevention of Violent and Aggressive Behavior (pdf)

added 07/30/2008
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (August 2007)

"This report provides a summary of findings from a review of evidence concerning the effectiveness of universal school-based violence prevention programs."

Third Milestones of a Global Campaign for Violence Prevention Report 2007: Scaling Up

added 06/11/2008
World Health Organization (WHO) (2007)

"Reviews progress that has been made in violence prevention since October 2002 and sets out what the World Health Organization and its partners can do over the next 5 years to expand programming and to demonstrate the impact of violence prevention."

Trust Betrayed

added 12/18/1997
 

This booklet, designed by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health, helps young adults understand the dynamics of healthy relationships; the signs of controlling relationships; the strategies for dealing with dating violence; and the resources available to end the cycle of violence.

Working with Children Towards a Healthy & Non-Violent Future

added 06/11/2008

"This Special Collection provides a unique perspective on working with children (younger than 13 years of age), focusing on theories and strategies for raising respectful, non-violent people. Resources included here discuss child development and how to utilize this knowledge when implementing primary prevention strategies that foster healthy attitudes and behaviors"

Working with Young Men Who Batter: Current Strategies and New Directions

added 01/14/2002
Dean Peacock and Emily Rothman, MS

This article offers an overview of the recent juvenile batterer intervention programs. It identifies risk factors for teen dating violence perpetration as described by the literature and considers the utility of these findings, describes efforts to prevent re-offenses by juvenile perpetrators of domestic violence, discusses several shortcomings inherent in post-crisis intervention, and outlines current challenges within the field.

Other formats: pdf

Younger Women at Great Risk of Intimate Partner Violence

added 11/06/2001

From Speaking Up Vol 7 Issue 21, November 2, 2001. Summary of the new report, Intimate Partner Violence and Age of Victim, released by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS).

Youth Violence Factsheets

added 12/20/1996

The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence has published over 50 factsheets related to youth violence and aggression.

Other formats: html