Adolescent
Violence Prevention
Knowledge Path
Knowledge Path Table of Contents
General Resources for Professionals
Resources on Specific Aspects of Adolescent Violence
- Bullying
- Child maltreatment
- Community Services Locator
- Domestic Violence
- Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges
- Reaching Out to Children and Youth Following Disasters
- Social and Emotional Development
- Suicide Prevention
Please provide feedback on this knowledge path.
This knowledge path about adolescent violence prevention has been compiled by the MCH Library at Georgetown University. The volume of materials on this topic is vast and covers many disciplines, including public health, medicine, criminal justice, education, and social services. This path offers a selection of current, high-quality resources from these disciplines that measure, document, and monitor the problem; identify risk and protective factors; and report on promising intervention strategies. Separate sections identify resources on specific aspects of adolescent violence: bullying, dating violence, family violence, firearms, gangs, media violence, school violence, suicide, and violent-crime victimization. This knowledge path is aimed at health and social services professionals, educators, policymakers, community activists, and families, and it will be updated periodically.
See Understanding Youth Violence (2009) by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This fact sheet describes the problem of adolescent violence in the United States and outlines its occurrence and consequences, the groups at risk, and prevention strategies. Also see Youth Violence: Facts at a Glance (2009), which presents data about youth violence and violence-related behaviors, health disparities among victims of violence, non-fatal injuries due to violence, school violence, bullying, and juvenile arrests.
General Resources for Professionals
- American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Violence Prevention. Policy statements
and patient-education materials on topics such as bullying and firearms.
Resources and initiatives include
Connected Kids: Safe, Strong, Secure. Information about this program to integrate violence prevention efforts in pediatric practices and the community. Includes a clinical guide and brochures for parents, children, and adolescents on topics such as bullying, discipline, interpersonal skills, and television violence.
Also see the ASK Campaign (Asking Saves Kids).
- Center for the
Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV). Program information,
publications, and databases to assist with the
development and evaluation of effective violence prevention programs.
Topics include school violence, bullying, gangs, and firearms. CSPV is
a research center at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Resources
and initiatives include
Blueprints for Violence Prevention. Information and materials about model programs that have been effective in reducing adolescent violent crime, aggression, delinquency, and substance use.
Also see Safe Communities~Safe Schools (SCSS).
- Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC). Information and resources about preventing
adolescent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Resources and
initiatives include
Guide to Community Preventive Services: Violence Prevention Focused on Children and Youth. Recommendations for population-based interventions to reduce or prevent violence by and against children and adolescents. Addresses early childhood home visitation, firearm laws, reducing psychological harm from traumatic events, school-based violence prevention programs, therapeutic foster care, and youth transfer to adult criminal courts.
Mortality Among Teenagers Aged 12–19 Years: United States, 1999–2006. (2010). This data brief indicates that almost 75 percent of all adolescent deaths are attributable to unintentional and violence-related injuries and are considered preventable.
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC): Youth Violence. Program information, data, assessment tools, definitions, and resources that describe risk and protective factors, consequences, prevention strategies, and the translation of research into practice. Recent resources and initiatives include
- Evaluation
for Improvement:
A Seven-Step Empowerment
Evaluation Approach
for Violence Prevention
Organizations.
(2010). [Manual].
- National
Academic Centers of Excellence (ACE) on Youth Violence
Prevention. Information about 10 university-based research
centers that are collaborating with local communities and
community-based organizations to develop, implement, and
evaluate promising adolescent violence prevention efforts.
Also see CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), school violence resources, and the Prevention Research Centers (PRC).
- Evaluation
for Improvement:
A Seven-Step Empowerment
Evaluation Approach
for Violence Prevention
Organizations.
(2010). [Manual].
- Children's
Safety Network (CSN): Youth Violence Prevention. Publications,
presentations, and links to additional resources about adolescent violence
prevention, including bullying and school violence prevention. CSN provides
information, training, and assistance to the maternal and child health
(MCH) community to reduce child and adolescent injuries and violence.
- Fight Crime:
Invest in Kids. Program information, legislative news, and publications
about crime-prevention topics, including early education and care, child
abuse and neglect prevention, after-school programs, and programs that
help troubled adolescents get back on track. Fight Crime: Invest in Kids
is a national anti-crime organization of law-enforcement leaders and
violence survivors.
- FindYouthInfo.gov.
Program and funding information and resources to help youth-serving organizations
and community partnerships plan, implement, and participate in effective
programs for youth. FindYouthInfo.gov was created by the Interagency Working
Group on Youth Programs, which is composed of representatives from 12 federal
agencies that support programs and services focusing on youth. See the FindYouthInfo.gov directory of
evidence-based programs.
- Girls Study
Group. Research bulletins, presentations, and background
materials about female juvenile delinquency and violence. The Girls Study
Group is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
- Healthy People
2020. Information about this national health-promotion and disease-prevention
initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services. View the overview, objectives, and recommended interventions and resources for adolescent health, including adolescent violence prevention.
- Minnesota
Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA): Youth Violence.
Electronic clearinghouse of links to published research, curricula and
other educational material, and organizations. Bullying, school violence,
gangs, and media violence are some of the topics addressed. MINCAVA is
located at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work.
- National Adolescent and Young Adult Health Information Center (NAHIC). Fact sheets, policy briefs, reports, and other
materials about adolescent health on topics that include positive youth
development and violence. NAHIC is based at the University of California,
San Francisco.
- National Technical Assistance
Center for Children's Mental Health. Program and conference information
and other resources about reforming services and building systems of
care for children and adolescents who have, or are at risk for, mental
health challenges and their families. Offers a matrix of
over 50 programs across the country that focus on Asian American/Pacific
Islander adolescent development and violence prevention. Presents a set
of briefs that describe the work and successes of 29 coalitions for
adolescent violence prevention. Also offers a monthly webinar
series that covers important and emerging trends in mental health.
The center is part of the Georgetown
University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD).
- Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Program, conference,
and funding information; statistics; state contact lists; and publications,
including electronic newsletters. Topics include girls'
delinquency and gang
violence prevention. OJJDP is part of the Department
of Justice (DOJ). Resources include
Socioeconomic Mapping and Resource Topography (SMART) System. A free, web-based geographic information system that communities can use to upload local maps of crime locations and connect them to maps of local intervention programs and community resources. See Get SMART—Mapping Resources for Crime and Delinquency Prevention (2010) for an overview of SMART.
Statistical Briefing Book (SBB). Statistics about juvenile crime and victimization and about youth involved in the juvenile justice system.
Also see the National Gang Center (NGC).
- Prevention Institute.
Program information, policy research and analysis, publications, presentations,
and other materials about violence
prevention. The Prevention Institute is a national, non-profit organization
that promotes policies, organizational practices, and collaborative efforts
to improve health and quality of life. Recent initiatives include
Urban Networks to Increase Thriving Youth (UNITY) Through Violence Prevention. Background information, program materials, assessment and planning tools, and a webinar training series about this program to strengthen and support cities' violence prevention efforts. UNITY is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Public/Private Ventures (P/PV).
Information about effective programs and reports aimed at reducing crime
and violence, promoting the successful reentry of formerly incarcerated adults,
and helping high-risk adolescents avoid deeper involvement with the criminal
justice system. Other programs address mentoring, out-of-school time, and
in-school initiatives. P/PV is a national nonprofit organization focused
on creating and strengthening programs that improve lives in low-income communities.
- Youth Alive! Program information and program replication materials for initiatives to prevent adolescent violence and develop adolescent leadership in California communities. Youth ALIVE! provides training to adolescents to build their leadership skills and support them in advocating for solutions to violence for themselves and their communities.
Additional Electronic Publications
- Fox HB, McManus MA, Arnold KN. 2010. Significant
Multiple Risk Behaviors Among U.S. High School Students. Washington,
DC: National Alliance to
Advance Adolescent Health. [Fact sheet].
- Greenwood P. 2010. Preventing
and Reducing Youth Crime and Violence: Using Evidence-Based Practices.
Sacramento, CA: Governor's Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy. [Paper].
- Kaba M, Mathew JC, Haines N, eds. 2010. Something
Is Wrong: Exploring the Roots of Youth Violence. Chicago, IL: Project
NIA, Chicago Freedom School, and Teachers for Social Justice. [Curriculum].
- Krisberg B, Hartney C, Wolf A, Silva F. 2009. Youth
Violence Myths and Realities: A Tale of Three Cities. Oakland, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD). [Report].
- MacDonald J, Bluthenthal RN, Golinelli D, Kofner A, Stokes RJ, Sehgal A,
Fain T, Beletsky L. 2009. Neighborhood
Effects on Crime and Youth Violence: The Role of Business Improvement Districts
in Los Angeles. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. [Report].
- Office of Applied Studies (OAS). 2009. Violent
Behaviors Among Adolescent Females. Rockville, MD: Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). [Report].
- Office of the
Surgeon General. 2001. Youth
Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: Department
of Health and Human Services (DHHS). [Report].
- RAND Corporation, PolicyLink, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race
and Justice, Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice, Drexel University
Department of Emergency Medicine. 2010. Healthy
Communities Matter: The Importance of Place to the Health of Boys of Color.
Los Angeles, CA: California Endowment.
[Report]. Topics include community violence.
- Schwarz SW. 2009. Adolescent
Violence and Unintentional Injury in the United States: Facts for Policymakers.
New York, NY: National Center for Children
in Poverty (NCCP). [Fact sheet].
- Stewart EA, Simons RL. 2009. The
Code of the Street and African-American Adolescent Violence. Washington,
DC: National Institute of Justice
(NIJ). [Report].
See the following set of MCH Library resource briefs to identify additional data and statistics, literature and research, and programs about adolescent violence prevention.
- Maternal and Child Health Data and Statistics
- Maternal and Child Health Literature and Research Databases
- Maternal and Child Health Programs Databases
- National
Criminal Justice Reference Service: JUSTINFO. This biweekly
electronic newsletter announces new federally sponsored publications,
events, and funding and training opportunities about criminal justice,
juvenile justice, and substance abuse.
- Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
JUVJUST. This service sends announcements about juvenile justice and other youth service-related publications, funding opportunities, and events.
OJJDP News @ a Glance. This bimonthly electronic newsletter highlights OJJDP activities, publications, funding opportunities, and upcoming events.
- SafetyLit Update Bulletin. This weekly newletter lists new additions to SafetyLit: Injury Prevention Literature Update and Archive Database, which contains abstracts of reports and journal articles about injury prevention and safety promotion.
- Also see GANGINFO,
the HELP for Victim Service Providers Web Forum, and
the Safe Start Center e-Newsletter.
- See the MCH Library family resource brief Teen
Violence Prevention.
- See the MCH Library school resource brief, School Violence Prevention
Resources on Specific Aspects of Adolescent Violence
- Harvard
Injury Control Research Center (HICRC). Information about research
programs, conferences, and seminars on adolescent violence, particularly
involving firearms. Resources and initiatives include
Firearms Research Digest. Citations for journal articles from the social science, criminology, legal, medical, and public health literature concerning firearms.
Means Matter: Suicide, Guns, and Public Health. Program information, education materials, and research about the relationship between firearms at home and increased risk of suicide.
- Center to Prevent Youth Violence (CPYV). Information and materials for its national initiatives:
ASK Campaign (Asking Saves Kids) encourages parents to ask if there are guns in the homes where their children play. ASK is a collaborative effort with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
National Safe Schools Week aims to empower students to keep their schools safe by encouraging them to speak up against school violence, including gun violence.
SPEAK UP. Hotline and awareness campaign that makes it safe and easy for students to anonymously report threats of violence, while working to turn around negative social norms that prevent young people from “speaking up.” Telephone: (866) 773-2587 (SPEAK UP).
- Children's Defense Fund. 2009. Protect
Children, Not Guns 2009. Washington, DC: Children's
Defense Fund (CDF). [Report].
- Also see the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence
(CSPV).
- National
Gang Center (NGC). Research and program information and tools
to assist in developing and implementing effective community-based gang
prevention, intervention, and suppression strategies. Includes training
information, gang-related state legislation and municipal codes, and
an updated list of newspaper articles on nationwide gang activity. NGC
is supported by the Department of Justice.
Resources include
GANGINFO. This electronic forum is for professionals working with adolescent gangs.
National Youth Gang Survey Analysis. Analysis and findings from the ongoing survey of law-enforcement agencies to assess the extent of adolescent gang problems by measuring the presence, characteristics, and behaviors of local gangs in jurisdictions throughout the United States.
- National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.
2010. Preventing
Gang Violence and Building Communities Where Young People Thrive. Washington,
DC: National League of Cities Institute
for Youth, Education, and Families. [Toolkit].
- See the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) fact
sheets, Trauma
in the Lives of Gang-Involved Youth: Tips for Volunteers and Community Organizations (2009)
and Your
Child and Gangs: What You Need to Know About Trauma. Tips for Parents (2009).
- Also see the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence
(CSPV), Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse
(MINCAVA), and the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
- Center
for Media Literacy (CML). Articles and educational
materials about media violence. CML is a nonprofit membership organization
supporting media-literacy education for families and schools nationwide.
- Center
on Media and Child Health (CMCH). Online
catalog of research articles examining the relationship between media
exposure and health-risk behaviors, including violence. CMCH is a joint
project of Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard
School of Public Health.
- Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and Brookings
Institution. 2008. Children
and Electronic Media. Princeton, NJ: Woodrow Wilson School of Public
and International Affairs; Washington, DC: Brookings Institution. (The
Future of Children; v. 18, no. 1; Spring 2008). Media violence is addressed. An executive summary,
policy brief, and article summaries accompany the publication.
- Also see the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and
the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse (MINCAVA).
- National
Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC): Youth Initiative. Tools for
adolescents about how to recognize a crime, what emotions to expect,
and how to receive or give help. Resources for schools, youth organizations,
victim service agencies, and other community groups to reach out to adolescents
and develop ways to make it safer for them to disclose their victimization.
- National Child
Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). Resources for families, educators,
health and social services professionals, policymakers, and the media
about child and adolescent traumatic stress, effective interventions,
data, and terrorism and disaster preparedness to lessen traumatic effects.
Some materials are available in Spanish. NCTSN aims to raise the standard
of care and improve access to services for traumatized children and adolescents,
their families, and communities throughout the United States.
- Office
for Victims of Crime Resource Center. Program, training,
and funding information and publications for victim service providers
and allied professionals about victim services, victim-witness programs,
and violent crime. Includes links to research and statistics about victims
of crime. Resources include
2010 National Crime Victims' Rights Week Resource Guide. (2010).
Directory of Crime Victim Services. Search by location, type of victimization, services needed, and agency type.
HELP for Victim Service Providers Web Forum. These online discussion groups serve as a forum for victim service providers and allied professionals to share ideas about best practices.
Victim Impact: Listen and Learn Curriculum. (2009).
What You Can Do If You Are a Victim of Crime (rev. ed.). (2010). [Brochure]. Also available in Spanish.
- Safe Start Center.
Issue briefs, research and evaluation reports, service delivery strategies,
and other tools for health and social services professionals, educators,
and families to reduce the impact of children's and adolescents' exposure
to violence. Some materials are available in Spanish. Safe Start is funded
by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
(OJJDP). Resources include
Children's Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive National Survey. (2009). [Report].
Healing the Invisible Wounds: Children's Exposure to Violence. A Guide for Families. (2009). Also available in Spanish.
Safe Start: Promising Approaches Communities. Working Together to Help Children Exposed to Violence. (2008). [Report].
Safe Start Center e-Newsletter. This periodic newsletter announces events and resources about the impact of exposure to family and community violence on children and their families.
- Linh Vuong L, Silva F, Marchionna S. 2009. Children
Exposed to Violence. Oakland, CA: National
Council on Crime and Delinquency. [Report].
- See the MCH Library resource brief, Reaching
Out to Children and Youth Following Disasters.
- Also see CDC's Guide to Community Preventive Services.
- Bullying resource brief
- Child maltreatment resource brief
- Community Services Locator: An Online Directory for Finding Community Services for Children and Families knowledge path
- Domestic Violence knowledge path (Includes sections about dating violence among adolescents and children exposed to domestic violence), family resource brief
- Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents knowledge path, family resource brief, school resource brief
- Reaching Out to Children and Youth Following Disasters resource brief
- Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents knowledge path, family resource brief, school resource brief
- Suicide Prevention resource brief
Adolescent Violence Prevention: Knowledge Path, 6th ed. (September 2010). (Updated:
February 2012).
Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Library.
Reviewers: Olivia K. Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Library;
Lissa Pressfield, M.H.S., Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Library.
