Youth Violence: Identify the Cause and Work Towards Prevention

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Introduction

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, Violence is the exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse. Violence is often a behavioral response that children are taught to use in order to achieve their goals. On the other hand, violence can become a routine and automatic way of coping with stressful situations for some children (Youth Violence and Suicide Prevention Team 1999). You violence is an old problem that is frequently an issue over which there is much debate. Unfortunately, the increasing violence amongst children both at school and at home has once again made the issue of youth violence a major concern in our society.

According to a 2010 CDC fact sheet “Over 656,000 physical assault injuries in young people age 10 to 24 were treated in U.S. emergency rooms in 2008”(CDC 2010). Surveys from the CDC also state that about 32% of high school students reported being in a physical fight in the 12 months before the survey (CDC 2006) these statistics provide convincing evidence that young people are greatly affected by violence and its resulting injuries. Even though we cannot definitively pinpoint the causes of youth violence At this time it is of the utmost importance to discover the reasons behind the rise in youth violence. The future will be grim; if we fail to save our children from themselves. This paper will present the major causes of youth violence, how youth violence became a big problem, and solutions for youth violence.

The major causes of youth violence

The sad truth is that most of the time people do not worry about the issue of youth violence. Until tragic events like the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, which resulted in the unnecessary loss of lives, occur. In the a...

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