Youth Violence Prevention Programs Essay ⋆ Criminal Justice Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Because of the rates of youth violence, violence prevention programs for children and adolescents have become a central focus of contemporary research and practice among social scientists. Violence-related behavior problems among youth can include any acts perpetrated by one or more youth (ages 18 or younger) against another person that results in intentional threat, attempted harm, or actual physical harm. Hence, violence prevention programs seek either to prevent violence-related behaviors or to treat preliminary behavior problems.

These youth violence prevention programs and their respective foci can be further clustered into categories based on (a) targeted level of programming, (b) type of conceptualization, (c) cultural and developmental considerations, and (d) fidelity and outcome emphases. Regarding the targeted level of programming, universal (or primary) prevention is where an entire population or group is slated to receive the program regardless of risk status or other factors. Selected (or secondary) prevention involves providing the program to individuals or groups with elevated risk for the specified outcome (e.g., poverty, antisocial behavior, domestic violence) without any symptoms (or minimal levels) of the outcome. Indicated (or tertiary) prevention programs target individuals who evidence early or notable symptoms of the targeted mental health problem (e.g., violence).

Level Of Programming

The scope of the program (universal, selected, and indicated) guides the subsequent intervention emphases and foci. The range of emphases and foci for youth violence prevention programs consists of the following: (a) individual-level interventions, which modify or enhance cognitive, social, and conflict resolution skills of individual participants; (b) family-level interventions, which focus on parenting, communication, process, and interactions between the participating youth, guardians, significant cocaretakers, and influential family members within the household setting; (c) peer-level interventions, which focus on cultivating prosocial norms and interactions between youth who share daily settings (e.g., classrooms, communities); (d) school-level interventions, which focus on training teachers, staff, and administrators in classroom-based or school wide programs that promote prosocial concepts and behaviors while increasing parental involvement in school related activities; (e) community-level interventions, which target specific residential settings or geographical areas with community leadership in youth guidance and community-based alternatives to hospitalization and incarceration; and (f) societal-level interventions, which often combine media-based awareness, institutional and organizational resources, and concentrated state and federal funds toward promoting prosocial behavior and antiviolence alternatives.

Conceptualization

The underlying conceptualization and derived intervention in youth violence prevention programs are also important considerations for contemporary research and practice. Some programs seek to address one or more “hot topics” perceived by consumers or other key stakeholders in the local community as “the problem,” yet other programs adopt empirically validated theoretical paradigms for conceptualizing youth violence and developing derived interventions. For example, gangs may be seen as the problem after a major violent incident that subsequently provokes angry responses from community residents, mass arrests of actual and suspected gang members, and harsher penalties from judicial authorities. A nontheoretically driven program may merely seek to coordinate these activities under the rubric of violence prevention. Although this type of response may satiate community and societal outrage, a programmatic reaction to gang violence often results in temporary (if any) impact on the fundamental problem underlying the incident in question.

Rather than a reactive approach to violence prevention, a research-based model that targets risk factors and taps protective factors for gang violence should guide a theoretically driven response to a violent incident with gangs. For example, two empirically validated models, the developmental-ecological and social-cognitive approaches, emphasize the interactions between individual maturational factors as well as their relevant social contexts (e.g., family, school, neighborhood). Consequently, these two ecologically appropriate models may implement a broadbased intervention that combines age-appropriate cognitive restructuring, classroom-based incentives, multiple family group sessions, and community-based mentoring (e.g., by reformed gang members who have credibility to support alternative prosocial behaviors, faith-based leaders in their adopted religious faith) to impact gang-involved youth and their social context.

Cultural Considerations

In addition to sound theoretical underpinnings, violence prevention programs benefit by giving great consideration to cultural factors that impact participation and generalization. Unfortunately, many of the existing programs have not been specifically developed on, nor designed for, culturally diverse populations. For example, middle-class European Americans have been the primary participants in violence prevention research. Thus, the generalizability to other populations (including low-income inner-city minorities who are disproportionately affected by violence and need these types of services) is questionable with significant questions of relevance, accessibility, and effectiveness.

Fidelity And Outcome

Of all the various program features, fidelity and outcome are often of paramount importance to youth violence prevention research and practice. These touchstones of adherence to protocols (e.g., implementing the intervention as originally designed by program investigators) and attainment of goals (e.g., reducing violence and increasing prosocial behavior) are top priorities for both consumers and professionals. Based on extensive research reviews on implementation and outcome, key distinctions in outcome proficiency have currently emerged between prevention programs labeled as effective (significant positive outcomes obtained and replicated through randomized control trials), promising (significant positive outcomes obtained in preliminary findings), and ineffective (e.g., unproven) programs.

Despite the large amount of attention and effort toward youth violence prevention by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, violence prevention programs continue to encounter several significant obstacles to implementation and outcome. For example, the vast amount of violence prevention research has yet to produce comprehensive understanding of the key factors that characterize effective prevention programs. In particular, current research limitations are as follows: (a) most interventions focus on risk factors for aggression, juvenile delinquency, and antisocial behavior rather than the actual violent actions themselves; and (b) many program evaluations fail to distinguish effects between different behavior patterns, subgroup risk-levels, intervention implementation timings, and social ecology influences.

Although the current knowledge base has certain limitations, several key principles have been empirically substantiated by rigorous research as trademarks of effective or promising programs. These principles are as follows:

There are many empirically supported avenues for treating and preventing youth violence that range from individual, to family, to school setting, and to community focus.
Multicomponent programs are necessary to reach high-risk youth and affect risk that is distributed across the general population and concentrated among high-risk youth.
Family-focused interventions should be at least one component in any violence prevention program (especially those programs targeting high-risk youth).
Programs that affect social problem solving and related cognitive attitudes about violence use and school linkage reduce violence in the general population.
Program impact greatly depends on the service delivery structure, especially the presence of structured protocols, specific goals, multiple foci (e.g., changing cognition, behavior, and affect), and expert staff training and supervision.
The most promising approach is to combine universal prevention efforts that seek to dissuade acceptance of violence in peer groups, classrooms, homes, and communities with indicated or secondary prevention efforts targeting youth who show behavioral risk.
The viability of interventions and policies depends heavily on the acceptance, support, and compliance of the providers and participating adults (e.g., parents or guardians, teachers) as well as the relevance to the targeted contexts (e.g., homes, schools, communities).
The available yet scant evaluation research on public policy consistently supports (a) violence prevention over postincident rehabilitation, (b) therapeutic or enhancement and support of youth over punitive or incarceration approaches, and (c) community-based efforts over institutional (e.g., hospitalization or jail) efforts.

Bibliography:

Hawkins, J. D., Farrington, D. P., & Catalano, R. F. (1999). Reducing violence through the schools. In D. S. Elliott, B. A. Hamburg, & K. R. Williams (Eds.), Youth violence: New perspectives for schools and communities (pp. 188–216). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Kerns, S. E., & Prinz, R. J. (2002). Critical issues in the prevention of violence-related behavior in youth. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 5(2), 133–160.
Lipsey, M., & Derzon, J. (1998). Predictors of violent or serious delinquency in adolescence and early adulthood: A synthesis of longitudinal research. In R. Loeber & D. Farrington (Eds.), Serious and violent juvenile offenders: Risk factors and successful interventions (pp. 86–105). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Reiss, A. J., & Roth, J. A. (Eds.). (1993). Understanding and preventing violence. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Tolan, P. H. (2001). Youth violence and its prevention in the United States: An overview of current knowledge. Injury Control and Safety Prevention, 8(1), 1–12.

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