Violence perpetration among urban american Indian youth: can protection offset risk?

OBJECTIVE: To predict the likelihood of violence perpetration given various combinations of the most statistically salient risk and protective factors related to violence perpetration. DESIGN: Urban Indian Youth Health Survey, conducted from October 9, 1995, to March 30, 1998, consisting of 200 forced-choice items exploring values, cultural identity, relationships, decision-making skills, and health and well-being. SETTING: Urban schools and an after-school youth development program at an urban American Indian center. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred sixty-nine urban American Indian youth enrolled in grades 3 through 12. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Violence perpetration dichotomized in 2 ways: (1) level of violence perpetration (ie, hitting someone 1-2 times in the past year vs picking fights, hitting repeatedly, participating in group fights, or shooting or stabbing someone in the past year) and (2) having shot and/or stabbed someone during the past year. RESULTS: In the final multivariate models with age as a covariate, most protective against violence perpetration were connections to school (odds ratio [OR], 0.17), positive affect (OR, 0.29), and peer prosocial behavior norms against violence (OR, 0.35). School connectedness (OR, 0.01) and positive affect (OR, 0.46) were also protective against shooting and/or stabbing someone, as was parental prosocial behavior norms against violence (OR, 0.23). The strongest risk factors for violence perpetration were substance use (OR, 2.60) and suicidal thoughts/behaviors (OR, 2.71); for shooting and/or stabbing, it was substance use (OR, 5.26). The likelihood of violence perpetration increased markedly (from 10% to 85%) as the exposure to risk factors increased and protective factors decreased. For shooting or stabbing someone, the probabilities ranged from 3% (0 risks and 3 protective factors) to 64% (1 risk and 0 protective factors). CONCLUSION: The dramatic reduction in the likelihood of violence involvement when risk was offset with protective factors in the probability profiles suggests the utility of a dual strategy of reducing risk while boosting protection.     

The impact of caring and connectedness on adolescent health and well-being

Abstract This study of over 36000 7^th-12^th grade students focused on protective factors against the quietly disturbed and acting out behaviours, which together represent the major social morbidities of adolescence. Multivariate models developed separately for girls and boys repeatedly demonstrated the protective function of caring and connectedness in the lives of youth, particularly a sense of connectedness to family and to school. A sense of spirituality, as well as low family stress (referring to poverty, unemployment, substance use and domestic violence) also functioned as protective factors. Measures of caring and connectedness surpassed demographic variables such as two parent vs single parent family structure as protective factors against high risk behaviours. Interventions for youth at-risk must critically examine the ways in which opportunities for a sense of belonging may be fostered, particularly among youth who do not report any significant caring relationships in their lives with adults.     

Surveying adolescents: Focusing on positive development

Although risk behaviours can threaten healthy youth development, reducing risks alone is not sufficient to help youth successfully negotiate adolescence. Promoting protective factors that buffer risk, such as family and school connectedness, community engagement and positive peer support, are also important for helping youth to thrive. Since 1992, the Adolescent Health Surveys conducted by McCreary Centre Society (Vancouver, British Columbia) have monitored both risk behaviours and protective factors among high school students across British Columbia. They have shown that, contrary to media images and community perceptions, the majority of young people are not exposed to risk factors such as violence and abuse; most do not have unprotected sex, drink and drive, use illegal drugs or consider suicide. They have also documented key protective factors that are linked to lower rates of risk behaviours and more positive outcomes, even for youth who face unsafe environments, family problems and other stressors. The shift toward assessing and promoting protective factors is a major paradigm change in adolescent health care, and clinicians can be an important partner with families and schools to foster healthy youth development.     

Consequences and correlates of adolescent depression

OBJECTIVE: To examine the correlates and consequences of high levels of depressive symptoms among adolescents. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of the 1997 Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls, a survey of a nationally representative sample of 4648 adolescent boys and girls between the ages of 10 and 18 years, inclusive, conducted in school settings. The self-administered questionnaire contains a screening instrument for depression based on the Children's Depression Inventory. OUTCOME: Days of school missed, performance at grade level, alcohol use, drug use, smoking, and bingeing. RESULTS: After controlling for sociodemographics, life events, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and exposure to violence, relative to other children, children and adolescents with high degrees of depressive symptoms missed about 1 day more of school in the month preceding the survey (P<.05) and had higher odds of smoking (odds ratio, 1.84; P<.001), bingeing (odds ratio, 2.02; P<.001), and suicidal ideation (odds ratio, 16.59; P<.001). CONCLUSION: High levels of depressive symptoms are correlated with serious and significant consequences, even after controlling for life circumstances.     

Premature sexual activity as an indicator of psychosocial risk

Although unprotected premature sexual activity is associated with well-defined biologic risks of sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy, the concomitant psychosocial risks are less well documented. The strength of association (odds ratio) of coital status with other risk behaviors and feelings was examined in 1504 junior high school students. Among the 12 through 16-year-old students, 63% of the boys and 36% of the girls were nonvirginal (had had intercourse at least once). The proportion of sexually experienced boys and girls increased with age. Nonvirginal boys and girls were significantly (P less than .001) more likely than their virginal cohorts to engage in other activities considered risky. The odds ratios for nonvirginal youth ranged from 3.5 for girls having used drugs other than alcohol or marijuana, to 10.4 for girls having used marijuana. Nonvirginal boys and girls were also at significantly greater risk for engaging in minor delinquent acts and having school problems. Nonvirginal girls (but not boys) were 6.3 times more likely to report having attempted suicide. The strength of associations with feelings was weaker. Nonvirginal girls were at slightly greater risk for reporting feeling lonely, feeling upset, and having difficulty sleeping. A significant proportion of the students reported sexual experience and ever use of alcohol or marijuana (45% of boys, 27% of girls). There were strong age effects so that by age 15 years, 63% of the boys and 50% of the girls reported experience with both activities. The data suggest that early sexual experience among adolescents is associated with other potentially health-endangering behaviors and that the syndrome of problem behaviors is important in this age group.     

Suicide attempts among American Indian and Alaska Native youth: risk and protective factors.

CONTEXT: American Indians and Alaska Natives have the highest suicide rates of all ethnic groups in the United States, and suicide is the second leading cause of death for American Indian and Alaska Native youth. OBJECTIVE: To identify risk and protective factors associated with suicide attempts among native male and female adolescents. DESIGN: The 1990 National American Indian Adolescent Health Survey. SETTING: Schools of reservation communities in 8 Indian Health Service areas. PARTICIPANTS: Eleven thousand six hundred sixty-six 7th- through 12th-grade American Indian and Alaska native youth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses were compared among adolescents with and without a self-reported history of attempted suicide. Independent variables included measures of community, family, and individual characteristics. Separate analyses were conducted for boys and girls. RESULTS: Ever attempting suicide was reported by 21.8% of girls and 11.8% of boys. By logistic regression done on boys and girls separately, suicide attempts were associated with friends or family members attempting or completing suicide; somatic symptoms; physical or sexual abuse; health concerns; using alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs; a history of being in a special education class; treatment for emotional problems; gang involvement; and gun availability. For male and female youth, discussing problems with friends or family, emotional health, and connectedness to family were protective against suicide attempts. The estimated probability of attempting suicide increased dramatically as the number of risk factors to which an adolescent was exposed increased; however, increasing protective factors was more effective at reducing the probability of a suicide attempt than was decreasing risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: A history of attempted suicide was associated with several risk and protective factors. In addition to targeting youth at increased risk, preventive efforts should include promotion of protective factors in the lives of all youth in this population.     

Staying in School: Connection,Cohesiveness, and Suspension

IntroductionIndividual-, school-, and neighborhood-level support and connectedness may help to mitigate against school suspensions, which have profound health and social consequences. Most research on social connectedness and suspension has focused only on school connectedness, and much less is known about the effects of individual social support and neighborhood-level connectedness on suspension.MethodsWe examined associations between all three levels of connectedness and suspension in a cross-sectional analysis of a population-based youth sample in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The Healthy Allegheny Teen Survey, a county-wide survey of 1813 male and female youth ages 14 to 19, assessed health risk/protective behaviors through random-digit-dialing in 2014. This survey included validated items evaluating each type of support as well as items assessing lifetime history of suspension. Logistic regression models examined associations between suspension and social support, school connectedness, and neighborhood-level cohesion.ResultsIn fully adjusted logistic regression models examining associations between suspension and each type of support, youth with high social support had 0.38 times the odds of school suspension compared to youth with low social support (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.19–0.74). High levels of school connectedness and neighborhood-level cohesion were also associated with significantly lower odds of suspension (odds ratio [OR] 0.31, 95% CI 0.18–0.53; OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.16–0.47, respectively). Examining all 3 types of support jointly, school connectedness and neighborhood-level cohesion were significantly inversely related to suspension (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.24–0.71; OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.23–0.74, respectively).ConclusionsPrograms that foster connectedness at the individual-, school-, and neighborhood-level may help reduce school suspension.     

Reducing obesity via a school-based interdisciplinary intervention among youth: Planet Health

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a school-based health behavior intervention known as Planet Health on obesity among boys and girls in grades 6 to 8. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled field trial with 5 intervention and 5 control schools. Outcomes were assessed using preintervention (fall 1995) and follow-up measures (spring 1997), including prevalence, incidence, and remission of obesity. PARTICIPANTS: A group of 1295 ethnically diverse grade 6 and 7 students from public schools in 4 Massachusetts communities. INTERVENTION: Students participated in a school-based interdisciplinary intervention over 2 school years. Planet Health sessions were included within existing curricula using classroom teachers in 4 major subjects and physical education. Sessions focused on decreasing television viewing, decreasing consumption of high-fat foods, increasing fruit and vegetable intake, and increasing moderate and vigorous physical activity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Obesity was defined as a composite indicator based on both a body mass index and a triceps skinfold value greater than or equal to age- and sex-specific 85th percentiles. Because schools were randomized, rather than students, the generalized estimating equation method was used to adjust for individual-level covariates under cluster randomization. RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity among girls in intervention schools was reduced compared with controls, controlling for baseline obesity (odds ratio, 0.47; 95% confidence interval, 0.24-0.93; P = .03), with no differences found among boys. There was greater remission of obesity among intervention girls vs. control girls (odds ratio, 2.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-4.35; P = .04). The intervention reduced television hours among both girls and boys, and increased fruit and vegetable consumption and resulted in a smaller increment in total energy intake among girls. Reductions in television viewing predicted obesity change and mediated the intervention effect. Among girls, each hour of reduction in television viewing predicted reduced obesity prevalence (odds ratio, 0.85; 95% confidence interval, 0.75-0.97; P = .02). CONCLUSION: Planet Health decreased obesity among female students, indicating a promising school-based approach to reducing obesity among youth.     

Demographic and risk factors associated with chronic dieting in adolescents

A comprehensive, school-based survey was administered to 36,320 Minnesota public school students in grades 7 through 12 during the 1987-1988 school year. Self-reported chronic dieting was much higher in girls than in boys (12.1% of all girls vs 2.1% of boys). For girls, the percentage of chronic dieters was significantly less in grades 7 and 8 (7.8%) than in grades 9 and 10 (13.5%) or grades 11 and 12 (14.3%). There were no differences among urban, suburban, or rural youth. Black girls were less likely to diet compared with white girls. Chronic dieters were more likely than other students to report maladaptive weight-loss techniques, such as self-induced vomiting (relative risk, 9.92 for girls and 9.40 for boys), laxative use (relative risk, 7.18 for girls and 11.00 for boys), ipecac use (relative risk, 8.33 for girls and 11.00 for boys), and diuretic use (relative risk, 7.30 for girls and 13.5 for boys). It is suggested that chronic dieting may serve as a screening marker for more severe eating and weight-loss behaviors.     

Effects of 2 prevention programs on high-risk behaviors among African American youth: a randomized trial

OBJECTIVE: To test the efficacy of 2 programs designed to reduce high-risk behaviors among inner-city African American youth. DESIGN: Cluster randomized trial. SETTING: Twelve metropolitan Chicago, Ill, schools and the communities they serve, 1994 through 1998. PARTICIPANTS: Students in grades 5 through 8 and their parents and teachers. INTERVENTIONS: The social development curriculum (SDC) consisted of 16 to 21 lessons per year focusing on social competence skills necessary to manage situations in which high-risk behaviors occur. The school/community intervention (SCI) consisted of SDC and school-wide climate and parent and community components. The control group received an attention-placebo health enhancement curriculum (HEC) of equal intensity to the SDC focusing on nutrition, physical activity, and general health care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Student self-reports of violence, provocative behavior, school delinquency, substance use, and sexual behaviors (intercourse and condom use). RESULTS: For boys, the SDC and SCI significantly reduced the rate of increase in violent behavior (by 35% and 47% compared with HEC, respectively), provoking behavior (41% and 59%), school delinquency (31% and 66%), drug use (32% and 34%), and recent sexual intercourse (44% and 65%), and improved the rate of increase in condom use (95% and 165%). The SCI was significantly more effective than the SDC for a combined behavioral measure (79% improvement vs 51%). There were no significant effects for girls. CONCLUSIONS: Theoretically derived social-emotional programs that are culturally sensitive, developmentally appropriate, and offered in multiple grades can reduce multiple risk behaviors for inner-city African American boys in grades 5 through 8. The lack of effects for girls deserves further research.     

Incarcerated adolescents' experiences as perpetrators of sexual assault

OBJECTIVES: To identify self-reported characteristics of past sexual assaults perpetrated by incarcerated juveniles and to determine potential precursors of this behavior. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Participants completed an anonymous written questionnaire regarding their experiences of sexual abuse and/or assault as both a victim and a perpetrator. The questionnaire was incorporated into an existing annual survey of gang-related behaviors. RESULTS: A total of 805 adolescents (707 boys, 91 girls, and 7 gender-not-designated) participated. Of these teens, 79 males (11% of the males), 9 females (10% of the females), and 5 (71%) gender-not-designated said they had forced sex on someone (165 did not answer the question). Twenty-eight males (30% of the male perpetrators) and 4 females (44% of the female perpetrators) were both victims and perpetrators. Drugs and/or alcohol were frequently used by both the assailant (58% of the males and 55% of the females) and the victim (56% for the males and 66% for the females). The attributes of adolescent boys at highest risk of becoming perpetrators were all related to violence, including exposure to parents who were violent in the home (adjusted odds ratio, 2.68), being a victim of physical or sexual assault (adjusted odds ratio, 2.83), having parents who encouraged gang membership (adjusted odds ratio, 3.58), and knowing a perpetrator of sexual violence (adjusted odds ratio, 3.83). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent boys and girls were both victims and perpetrators of sexual assault. Programs that identify and target violence in young children's lives, particularly intrafamilial violence, may reduce the risk of teenagers becoming perpetrators of sexual violence. Anticipatory guidance during teen years, regarding risk and avoidance of sexual exploitation, may be helpful in reducing the chances of sexual assaults.     

Violent behavior by girls reporting violent victimization: a prospective study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationships between individual victimization and neighborhood-level violence on subsequent violent perpetration by adolescent girls in a community-based sample. DESIGN: Longitudinal, multilevel analysis of data collected by the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods. Three in-home interviews were conducted approximately 24 months apart between November 1995 and January 2002 with youth and their caregivers. Community-level data also were collected in 1995 from a random sample of Chicago residents. Hierarchical regression models and propensity scores were used. SETTING: Families and neighborhoods in Chicago. PARTICIPANTS: Population-based sample of 637 girls, ages 9 to 15 years at baseline, and the neighborhoods in which they resided. This sample is diverse in race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, family structure, and neighborhood characteristics. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Self-reports of violent behavior in the 12 months before the third interview. RESULTS: At baseline, 38% of the girls reported perpetrating at least 1 violent behavior in the prior 12 months, 28% reported past year violent behavior at the first follow-up interview, and 14% reported past year violent behavior at the third interview. The odds of violent behavior were 2.2 times higher among girls who reported prior violent victimization, after prior confounding factors and baseline violent behavior were controlled (95% confidence interval, 1.3- 4.4). Homicides and concentrated poverty in girls' neighborhoods also were associated with aggression by girls. CONCLUSIONS: Improving safety in communities and homes may reduce rates of violent perpetration by adolescent girls. Study results suggest that, to facilitate identification of and healing among adolescent survivors of violence, practitioners should recognize perpetration of violence as potential sequelae of prior violent victimization.     

Relationships between bullying and violence among US youth

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which bullying and being bullied, both in and away from school, is associated with involvement in violent behavior. DESIGN, SETTING, and PARTICIPANTS: A US representative cross-sectional sample of 15 686 students in grades 6 through 10 in public and private schools completed the World Health Organization's Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey in 1998. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-report of weapon carrying, weapon carrying in school, physical fighting, and being injured in a physical fight. RESULTS: Involvement in each of the violence-related behaviors ranged from 13% to 23% of boys and 4% to 11% of girls. Bullying others and being bullied were consistently related to each violence-related behavior for both boys and girls. Greater odds of involvement occurred with bullying others than being bullied, and greater odds of involvement occurred with bullying that took place away from school than that occurring in school. For example, the adjusted odds ratio for weapon carrying associated with being bullied in school weekly was 1.5, for bullying others in school 2.6, for being bullied away from school 4.1, and for bullying others away from school 5.9. CONCLUSION: Bullying should not be considered a normative aspect of youth development, but rather a marker for more serious violent behaviors, including weapon carrying, frequent fighting, and fighting-related injury.     

The temporal relation between depression and comorbid psychopathology in adolescents at varied risk for depression

Background: This study examined the temporal comorbidity of depressive disorders with anxiety, externalizing, and substance use disorders in adolescents who varied in risk for depression. Methods: Participants were 240 adolescents and their mothers who had either a history of depression (high‐risk, n = 185) or were lifetime‐free of psychiatric disorders (low‐risk, n = 55). Children (54.2% females) were first evaluated in 6th grade (mean age = 11.86, SD = .57) with the K‐SADS‐PL to assess current and lifetime diagnoses, and then annually through 12th grade with the A‐LIFE to assess diagnoses since the previous evaluation. Results: For girls, the rate of depression was high regardless of prior anxiety, whereas for boys, the odds that those with prior subthreshold anxiety would have subsequent subthreshold depression were 1.5 times those of boys with no prior subthreshold anxiety, controlling for risk. In addition, the odds that girls with prior substance use disorders would have a threshold depressive disorder subsequently were three times those of girls with no prior substance use disorders, controlling for risk. Conclusions: These results highlight the importance of early detection of various forms of psychopathology in youth who then can be targeted for intervention. The prospective paths to comorbidity differed by sex, thus suggesting that interventions need to be constructed with sensitivity to these distinct diagnostic trajectories.     

Intrapersonal, behavioral, and environmental factors associated with meeting recommended physical activity among rural Latino youth

This study aimed to identify intrapersonal, behavioral, and environmental factors associated with engaging in recommended levels of physical activity among rural Latino middle school youth. Data were from an anonymous survey of 773 Latino youth (51% female) about level of and barriers and motivators to physical activity, risk behaviors, and park use. Logistic regression models identified factors correlated with meeting recommended levels of physical activity (5 days or more 3 60 min/day). Thirty-four percent of girls and 41% of boys reported meeting this physical activity recommendation. Participation in an organized after school activity (p < .001) and in physical education (PE) classes 5 days a week (p < .001) were strongly associated with meeting recommended physical activity level. Making PE available 5 days a week and creating opportunities for organized after school physical activity programs may increase the number of rural Latino middle school youth who meet recommended physical activity level.     

Serious injuries and deaths of adolescent girls resulting from interpersonal violence: characteristics and trends from the United States, 1989-1998

BACKGROUND: Little published data are available concerning the death and disability of adolescent girls resulting from interpersonal violence (adolescents are defined as those aged 12-18 years in this study). OBJECTIVES: To determine whether there were sex differences in (a) the characteristics of those who were injured or died, (b) injury severity and outcomes, and (c) injury mechanism; and to describe time trends in these differences. DESIGN: Analysis of data concerning serious injuries due to assaults, recorded in the National Pediatric Trauma Registry (from January 1, 1989, through December 31, 1998), and homicides, recorded in the Web-Based Injury Statistics and Query Reporting System database (from January 1, 1990, through December 31, 1997). SETTING: Patient data from participating pediatric trauma centers (National Pediatric Trauma Registry) in 45 states and national death certificate data (Web-Based Injury Statistics and Query Reporting System). PATIENTS: Six hundred twelve adolescent girls who were seriously injured because of an assault were compared with 2656 adolescent boys who were seriously injured because of an assault. Three thousand four hundred eighty-seven adolescent girls who died due to a homicide were compared with 17 292 adolescent boys who died due to a homicide. RESULTS: Assaulted adolescent girls were more likely to have preexisting cognitive or psychosocial impairments than were adolescent boys (odds ratio, 1.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.12-2.51). Adolescent girls trended toward more injury-related impairments at discharge from the hospital (odds ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.92-1.47). Adolescent girls were more likely to have been stabbed, and less likely to have been shot. Also, adolescent girls were more likely to have been injured at a home or a residence. Compared with all National Pediatric Trauma Registry admissions, assaults declined at the same rate for adolescent girls and boys. The proportion resulting from penetrating trauma declined more slowly for adolescent girls. CONCLUSIONS: Interpersonal violence causes considerable morbidity and mortality for young women. Research and interventions should be developed to respond to adolescent girls who experience interpersonal violence.     

Prospective effects of violence exposure across multiple contexts on early adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems

Background: Violence exposure within each setting of community, school, or home has been linked with internalizing and externalizing problems. Although many children experience violence in multiple contexts, the effects of such cross‐contextual exposure have not been studied. This study addresses this gap by examining independent and interactive effects of witnessing violence and victimization in the community, home, and school on subsequent internalizing and externalizing problems in early adolescence. Methods: A community sample of 603 boys and girls (78% African American, 20% Caucasian) participated in a longitudinal study of youth violence. During two assessments 16 months apart, adolescents reported on witnessing violence and victimization in the community, school, and home, and their internalizing and externalizing problems. Results: Multiple regressions tested the independent and interactive effects of witnessing violence or victimization across contexts on subsequent adjustment, after controlling for initial levels of internalizing and externalizing problems and demographic covariates. Witnessing violence at school predicted anxiety and depression; witnessing at home was related to anxiety and aggression; and witnessing community violence predicted delinquency. Victimization at home was related to subsequent anxiety, depression, and aggression; victimization at school predicted anxiety; and victimization in the community was not independently related to any outcomes. Finally, witnessing violence at home was associated with more anxiety, delinquency, and aggression only if adolescents reported no exposure to community violence. Conclusions: Violence exposure at home and school had the strongest independent effects on internalizing and externalizing outcomes. Witnessing community violence attenuated the effects of witnessing home violence on anxiety and externalizing problems, perhaps due to desensitization or different norms or expectations regarding violence. However, no comparable attenuation effects were observed for victimization across contexts.     

Self‐reported violence amongst adolescents in Denmark: is alcohol a serious risk factor?

AIM: To describe the prevalence of adolescents' exposure to different types of violence (at home and outside the home) and associations between severe violence and alcohol consumption, taking account of gender and the influence of other factors. METHODS: A multimedia computer-based survey amongst a nationally representative sample of 9th grade pupils included comprehensive data on exposure to physical violence, use of alcohol and additional socio-demographic and behavioural factors. Analyses included gender disaggregated cross tabulations and logistic regressions. RESULTS: Around 9.3% of girls and 12.3% of boys reported being victims of physical violence within the last 12 months. Also, 2.7% of girls and 3.5% of boys reported severe violence. Gender differences existed in place of occurrence; girls were more frequently assaulted at home, boys outside the home. Alcohol was only associated with violence exposure outside the home for boys, not girls. CONCLUSIONS: About one-tenth of adolescents in Denmark reported exposure to any physical violence and 3% to severe violence during the last year. Alcohol consumption was not a risk factor for girls and only a risk factor for boys regarding violence occurring outside the home.     

Researching Violence with Conflict-Affected Young People: Context and Process

This study used focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires to engage young people from Comuna 13, a conflict-ridden borough in Medellin, Colombia, in identifying protective and risk factors for violence. A mixed-methods approach and sequencing of research activities point to context as key in defining the role of self, family, school, community, and government in protection. Young people selected areas of direct influence to reduce violence: allaying boredom, reducing bullying in schools, providing education on safe sex, breaking down traditional stereotypes of girls and boys, and working with young children. In examining relevant and ethical approaches to reducing violence, this study outlines the conditions of a process that would empower young people, while considering safety, influence, and connection to credible community-based resources.