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http://jea.sagepub.com/ The Journal of Early Adolescence
http://jea.sagepub.com/content/24/4/385 The online version of this article can be found at:
DOI: 10.1177/0272431604268551
2004 24: 385The Journal of Early Adolescence Marc A. Zimmerman, Susan Morrel-Samuels, Naima Wong, Darian Tarver, Deana Rabiah and Sharrice White
Guns, Gangs, and Gossip An Analysis of Student Essays on Youth Violence
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10.1177/0272431604268551JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE / November 2004Zimmerman et al. / ESSAYS ON YOUTH VIOLENCE
Guns, Gangs, and Gossip An Analysis of Student Essays on Youth Violence
Marc A. Zimmerman Susan Morrel-Samuels
Naima Wong University of Michigan
Darian Tarver Naval Hospital, Camp Lejeune
Deana Rabiah Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services
Sharrice White University of Michigan
Youth violence is an important public health problem, but few researchers have studied violence from youth’s perspectives. Middle school students’ essays about the causes of youth violence were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. The causes of violence identified by students were categorized into individual, peer, family, and societal factors. Seven to 11 subcategories were identified within each factor. Variations in the frequency of quotes among factors, the independent effects of factor and sex, and their interaction were examined. Peer factors were identified most often and family factors least often as causes of violence. Females were more likely than males to report peer fac- tors as a cause. The most frequently mentioned subcategories within each factor were lack of anger management, need for acceptance, harassment/lack of respect, violence in the media, and parenting practices. The discussion examines youth’s theories about the causation of violence and their implications for interventions.
Keywords: violence; youth; middle school; causation; peers
Violence accounts for much of the morbidity and mortality among adoles- cents in the United States (National Center for Health Statistics, 2003). Homicide and suicide have been among the second and third leading causes of death for 15- to 19-year-olds during the past two decades (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2002). Homicide rates among adoles-
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Journal of Early Adolescence, Vol. 24 No. 4, November 2004 385-411 DOI: 10.1177/0272431604268551 © 2004 Sage Publications
cents, especially males, increased steadily throughout the seventies and eighties (Fingerhut, Kleinman, Godfrey, & Rosenberg, 1991), reaching a peak in 1993 (Blumstein, 2000). Over the past decade, youth homicide rates in the United States have fallen but remain well above those in Western Europe and Asia (World Health Organization, 2002). Although death is the most extreme result of violence, the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (2000) estimated that in the year 2000, there were 677,761 nonfatal intentional injuries among 15- to 24-year-olds.
Rates of adolescent perpetration of violence also rose sharply in the eight- ies and nineties and have declined in recent years. The highest arrest rates for homicide are among young males aged 18 to 24. During the late eighties and early nineties, homicide offenses among this age group doubled and remain above the levels of the mid-eighties (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002). Among 14- to 17-year-olds, rates of homicide offenses soared to 30 per 100,000 in 1993 but had declined to 10 per 100,000 by the year 2000 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002). Firearms account for more than 80% of all homi- cides among 15- to 19-year-olds (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 1996). The risk of dying from a firearm injury more than doubled for this age group from 1985 to 1994 (Kann et al., 1996).
Previous research has examined individual, peer, family and societal fac- tors that appear to contribute to violent behavior among youth. Several re- searchers have found that early aggressive behavior (Dahlberg, 1998; Guerra, Huesmann, Tolan, & Van Acker, 1995; Huesmann, Eron, Lefkowitz, & Walder, 1984; Herrenkohl et al., 2000) and antisocial behavior in child- hood (Capaldi & Patterson, 1993; Ellickson & McGuigan, 2000; Loeber et al., 1993) are risk factors for later violent behaviors. Resnick and col- leagues (1997) found that deviant behavior and poorer school performance were also associated with violent behavior in a national study of adolescents. Pepler and Slaby (1994) reviewed the literature on youth violence and identi- fied several individual factors that may lead to aggressive and violent behav- iors including limited academic, problem-solving, and negotiation skills.
Normative beliefs about aggressive behavior are also associated with vio- lence (Guerra et al., 1995; Herrenkohl et al., 1997; Huesmann & Guerra, 1997). Several researchers have examined associations between attitudes toward violence and previous experiences of violence. In an ethnographic
386 JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE / November 2004
This research was funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (No. R49/ CCR518605). The authors wish to thank the Steering Committee of the Youth Violence Prevention Center, Peter Hutchison, Shani Buchanan, Dr. Palmer Morrel-Samuels, and the students who wrote the essays that made this study possible. Please direct all correspondence to Marc A. Zimmerman, Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029; e-mail: [email protected].
study of elementary school youth, Towns (1996) found that students’ atti- tudes toward violence were influenced by the victimization or imprisonment of friends or relatives and by their fear of retaliation from perpetrators of violence in their community. Vernberg, Jacobs, and Hershberger, (1999), however, found that prior victimization was not clearly related to positive attitudes toward aggression but that both previous victimization and pro- violence attitudes were strongly associated with victimization of others.
Although patterns of aggressive behavior emerge during childhood, the social influences of friends, family, and adults can maintain such behavioral patterns during adolescence (Eron & Huesmann, 1990). Peer influences on aggressive behavior have been well documented (Cairns & Cairns, 1991; Dahlberg, 1998; Herrenkohl et al., 2000; Hill, Soriano, Chen, & LaFromboise, 1994; Zimmerman, Steinman, & Rowe, 1998). Cairns and Cairns (1991) suggested that aggressive children are often rejected by their socially competent peers so they establish relationships in marginalized cliques of individuals who resemble themselves in terms of their rejected sta- tus and antisocial behavior. Youth who belong to such groups may reinforce each other’s aggressive behavior and limit exposure to pro-social methods of problem solving (Parker & Asher, 1987). Loeber and Stouthamer-Loeber (1998), for example, found that an adolescent’s risk for delinquency in- creases by associating with delinquent peers. The school context may also be related to youth violence because it provides a space for peers to interact for long and continual periods of time. Astor, Meyer, and Behre (1999) identi- fied territories in and around school that increased risk for violent occur- rences. These were mostly public spaces when adults were not present, such as parking lots and cafeterias. Ellickson and McGuigan (2000) found that attendance at middle schools with high levels of drug use was predictive of later violent behavior.
Poor parenting practices, ineffective monitoring, and lack of family con- nectedness and parental support have been identified as risk factors for youth violence (Dalhberg, 1998; Resnick et al., 1997; Zimmerman et al., 1998). Witnessing domestic violence has also been found to be a potential anteced- ent to violent behavior. In a review of the effects of domestic violence on chil- dren, Osofsky (1999) found that the exposure to domestic violence creates a risk for future violent offending and victimization. Herrenkohl et al. (2000) reported that parental attitudes favorable to violence and parental criminality were also predictive of future violent behavior.
Several researchers have suggested that societal structural factors such as poverty, urban residence, and living in physically run-down neighborhoods account for adolescent violence (Greenberg & Schneider, 1994; Guerra et al., 1995; McLloyd, 1990; Wilson, 1987). Although the evidence is mixed
Zimmerman et al. / ESSAYS ON YOUTH VIOLENCE 387
regarding the direct effects of neighborhood context on youth violence, find- ings from several studies suggest that poverty characterized by living in neighborhoods that include chronic unemployment, high rates of crime and drug use, and crowded housing create a context where youth violence is more likely to occur (Dalhberg, 1998; Hammond & Yung, 1994; Prothrow-Stith, 1995). These neighborhood contexts may also provide access to firearms, an exposure that is associated with increased youth violence (Dahlberg, 1998).
The presence of violence in the mass media has also been examined as a potential contributing factor to youth violence. Meta-analyses indicate that media-violence viewing is associated with higher levels of antisocial behav- ior, ranging from imitative violence directed against toys to criminal violence as well as acceptance of violence as a solution to problems and increased feelings of hostility (Huesmann & Guerra, 1997; Paik & Comstock, 1994). Studies of children exposed to media violence have demonstrated reduced arousal and emotional disturbance while witnessing violence, a reduced ten- dency to intervene in fights, and less sympathy for the victims of violence (Molitor & Hirsch, 1994; Mullin & Linz, 1995).
A few studies have queried youth directly about their beliefs concerning the causes of violence. Reese, Vera, Thompson, and Reyes (2001) conducted focus groups with young adolescents who discussed how their desires for security and acceptance could place them in risky situations. Study partici- pants reported, for example, that they joined gangs out of fear for their physi- cal safety. Females, in particular, expressed the belief that gang membership helped protect them from sexual assaults. In a national survey, Galinsky and Salmond (2002) found that youth identified needs for acceptance and self- protection as antecedents of violent behavior.
Males and females may also differ on their perceptions of causes of vio- lence because of sex differences in attitudes, behavior, and victimization. In general, males report more violent behavior than females, especially at youn- ger ages (Caldwell, Chavous, Barnett, Kohn-Wood, & Zimmerman, 2004; Steinman & Zimmerman, 2003; Zimmerman et al., 1998). Similarly, males are disproportionately victimized compared to females (National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES], 1996). Caldwell et al. (2004) examined sex differences for several predictors of violent behavior and victimization in a sample of 681 high school youth. They found that peer factors and fear of violence predicted violent behavior for both males and females. Peer drug use, however, was associated with victimization only for females. Similarly, neighborhood poverty was related to violent behavior in their study but only for females. Windle (1992) found low parental support was more strongly related to externalizing behaviors, including violent behavior, for female than male adolescents. These sex differences in both the prevalence of vio-
388 JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE / November 2004
lent behavior and the predictors of it suggest that examination of causes of youth violence by sex may provide useful insights about youth perspectives on the topic. This research suggests that females may be more likely than males to identify social and interpersonal factors as causes of youth violence. Similarly, sex differences in victimization may also play a role in male and female youth perceptions of causes of youth violence. This might suggest that males may be more likely than females to identify causes of youth vio- lence related to factors that help them avoid being victimized (e.g., need to show strength).
Most of the research on youth’s perceptions of violence, however, is based on topics and questions defined by researchers. Few studies provide a format that allows youth to express their ideas about youth violence in their own voices. Rather, they report youth’s responses to closed-ended questions about issues in which the researcher is interested. The unique contribution of this study is that it is based on youth’s perspectives on violence in their own words.
METHOD
Study Context
This study took place in Flint, Michigan, an industrial city that has suf- fered significant economic and population decline over the past 20 years (U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). During this period, the city’s rate of violent crime has risen to among the highest in the state (Michigan State Police, 2002). Flint Community Schools reported a high school dropout rate for 2000-2001 of 9.5, an increase of 15% from the previous year among 12- to 17-year-olds. The truancy rate was 25% in 2001 compared to 20% in 2000. In the 2001-2002 school year, 66% of students in the school district qualified for free or reduced price lunch, as compared with 32% for the state (Michigan Department of Education, 2002).
Data Collection Procedure
The essays used in this analysis were written by seventh- and eighth-grade students who participated in a national essay contest titled “Do the Write Thing.” The contest was open to seventh- and eighth-grade students in all seven middle schools in the district. Five of these schools chose to partici- pate. Student participation in the contest was voluntary, but some group in- centives were provided. The school with the most entries received an award, every teacher whose class submitted entries was eligible for a drawing for
Zimmerman et al. / ESSAYS ON YOUTH VIOLENCE 389
educational materials, and a citywide dance was held for all students who entered the contest. Participating students were instructed to address three questions in their essays: (a) How has youth violence affected my life? (b) What are the causes of youth violence? and (c) What can I do about youth violence? For the purposes of this article, only statements about causes were examined. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained for the study.
Sample
Three hundred ninety-one essays were completed, accounting for 16% of the eligible population at the participating schools. The sample included 133 essays written by males and 256 essays written by females. Gender was unknown for 2 participants. Quotes from those two essays were included in the general analyses but were excluded from all analyses examining sex dif- ferences because they were treated as missing. The essays were anonymous; all identifiers were removed prior to receipt by the research team.
Data Analysis
Our data analytic strategy used both qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative analysis began with the development of a coding outline organized by individual, peer, family, and societal factors, a framework that is consistent with the literature on the causes of youth violence (Dahlberg, 1998; Herrenkohl et al., 2000). To develop the subcategories within each of these factors, the research team discussed the themes they observed with the four staff members who typed the handwritten essays into a master document. The following subcategories were identified based on the results of this discussion:
Individual factors: lack of anger management, attitudes, greed/jealousy, protection/ strength, depression/low self-esteem, behaviors, substance abuse, witness/victim of crime, other.
Peer factors: need for acceptance/peer pressure, harassment/lack of respect, gang membership, gossip/rumors, lack of positive teen role models, sport rivalries, other.
Family factors: parenting practices, lack of positive parental role model, family violence, guns/gun use in the home, substance/alcohol abuse, other.
Societal factors: media violence, access/abuse of drugs/alcohol, easy access to guns, loss of community infrastructure, social acceptance of violence, racism/ racial tension, lack of recognition for youth population, other.
To test the utility of this outline, each of the six members of the research team coded a sample of 10 essays. The coding followed a procedure de-
390 JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE / November 2004
scribed by Freudenberg and Zimmerman (1995). The coders first broke each essay into quotes or “chunks” by dividing the text into distinct fragments that represented a coherent idea. Each data chunk was coded and placed into one or more subcategories, as appropriate. Several new subcategories emerged from the coding of the sample essays and were added to the outline; these included revenge and stress (individual factors), romantic relationships (peer factors), fam- ily problems, unspecified (family factors), and poverty (societal factors).
After the outline was finalized, each member of the research team coded five additional common essays and the team met several times to discuss dis- crepancies and develop consistency on the interpretation of the subcatego- ries. When the research team reached consensus on coding, all 391 essays were divided among the members for coding and were included in subse- quent analyses. The coded quotes from all of the essays were then merged into a master outline, which was reviewed for errors. We tested the reliability of the coding by having two independent researchers recode a random sam- ple of 75 chunks. Their coding was in 80% and 83% agreement, respectively, with that of the research team.
To explore qualitative differences between males’ and females’ percep- tions of the causes of violence, we reviewed all of the quotes within the four most frequently mentioned subcategories in each factor and selected repre- sentative quotes for each sex (see appendix).
We also transformed the qualitative data into a quantitative database for additional analysis. This procedure follows that described by Miles and Huberman (1994). They described a procedure for coding qualitative data in ways that can then be analyzed with nonparametric statistical procedures (e.g., chi-square analysis). Thus, we created nominal level data that repre- sented our coding categories and used them to conduct statistical analyses (e.g., category by sex). The quantitative database was used to calculate the frequency of chunks in each outline factor and subcategory. For the purposes of analysis, multiple quotes concerning the same subcategory within a single essay (i.e., respondent) were counted as one mention of that subcategory. We identified the four most frequently mentioned subcategories within each factor for further examination.
We used a one-way ANOVA to test the variation in the frequency of quotes among the factors (individual, peer, family, and societal) and multiple regression to examine the independent effects of factor and sex as well as the interaction between these two variables. For this analysis, the independent variables were sex and factor, and the dependent variable was the frequency of quotes. As part of this multiple regression analysis, we used contrasts to test the slopes of the interactions. To run the ANOVA and the multiple regres- sion, we followed a conventional procedure for collapsing four columns into
Zimmerman et al. / ESSAYS ON YOUTH VIOLENCE 391
one variable in a concatenated data set having 1,564 rows (SAS Institute, 2000). The concatenation allowed us to avoid relying on multiple rounds of ANOVAs or repeated-measure ANOVAs.1 Chi-square analyses were also conducted to see whether there were sex differences in the responses to each subcategory within the four factors.
RESULTS
Theme Analysis
The youth identified 35 causes of youth violence, but most students focused on specific subcategories within each of the four factors: individual, peer, family, and societal. Although most students mentioned multiple causes, few identified causes within all four factors. Table 1 lists all 35 causes by subcategory for the total sample and by males and females.
This table indicates that the students identified peer factors most often as a cause of violence (n = 235; column 2, row 21) and societal factors second (n = 210; column 2, row 39). Youth were least likely to raise family factors as a cause for youth violence (n = 123; column 2, row 29). Among the peer fac- tors, need for acceptance (n = 58; column 2, row 13) and harassment/lack of respect (n = 58; column 2, row 14) were the most frequently cited causes. These two causes accounted for 50% of all the peer factors indicated by youth. The top four causes among peer factors accounted for 88% of all the causes in this category. Sports rivalries were only noted by 3 youth (1%; col- umn 3, row 20)) as a cause of youth violence. Almost one-third (31%; col- umn 3, row 30) of the youth who identified societal factors as a cause of youth violence wrote about violence in the media. Access to, and abuse of, alcohol and other drugs was the second most common societal factor cause cited by youth (n = 37; column 2, row 31). Only 6 youth (3%; column 3, row 37) thought that poverty was a cause of youth violence. Racial tension/racism was cited by 16 youth as a cause (8%; column 3, row 35). Among the individ- ual factors, lack of anger management was most often indicated by youth (n = 36; column 2, row 1). Less than 5% of the youth indicated stress or previous victimization as a cause of youth violence (column 3, rows 10 and 11). Par- enting practices were indicated as a cause of youth violence by almost half of the students who identified family factors (49%; column 3, row 22). The top four family factors also accounted for 88% of all the causes in this category.
The results of a one-way ANOVA (where the dependent variable was quote frequency and the independent variables were sex and one of the four thematic factors) indicated differences in the frequencies of quotes across the
392 JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE / November 2004
Zimmerman et al. / ESSAYS ON YOUTH VIOLENCE 393
TABLE 1: Number and Percentage of Quotes Concerning Causes of Youth Violence by Males and Females
Total Males Females
N % n % n %
A. Individual factors 1. Lack of anger management 36a 20 12 24 23 18 2. Attitudes 23 13 4 8 19 15 3. Greed/jealously 22 12 7 14 15 12 4. Protection/strength 18 10 7 14 11 9 5. Depression/low self-esteem 16 9 4 8 12 9 6. Behaviors 15 8 4 8 11 9 7. Substance/alcohol abuse 14 8 4 8 10 8 8. Revenge 13 7 3 6 10 8 9. Other 13 7 2 4 11 9
10. Stress 6 3 2 4 4 3 11. Witness/victim of crime 3 2 0 0 3 2 12. Totals 179a 49 129
B. Peer factors 13. Need for acceptance/peer pressure 58 25 12 24 46 25 14. Harassment/lack of respect 58 25 15 29 43 23 15. Gang membership 49a 21 12 24 36 20 16. Gossip/rumors 39 17 7 14 32 17 17. Other 15 6 3 6 12 7 18. Romantic relationships 8 3 2 4 6 3 19. Lack of positive teen role models 5 2 0 0 5 3 20. Sport rivalries 3 1 0 0 3 2 21. Totals 235a 51 183
C. Family factors 22. Parenting practices 60a 49 17 47 42 49 23. Lack positive parental role model 17 14 8 22 9 11 24. Family violence 16 13 6 17 10 12 25. Gun(s)/gun use in home 15a 12 1 3 13 15 26. Family problems unspecified 7 6 0 0 7 8 27. Substance/alcohol abuse 4 3 2 6 2 2 28. Other 4 3 2 6 2 2 29. Totals 123a 36 85
D. Societal factors 30. Media violence 65 31 26 38 39 28 31. Access/abuse of drugs/alcohol 37a 18 17 25 19 14 32. Easy access to guns 29a 14 9 13 19 14 33. Loss of community infrastructure 28 13 7 10 21 15 34. Social acceptance of violence 18 9 1 1 17 12 35. Racism/racial tension 16 8 3 4 13 9 36. Other 9 4 5 7 4 3 37. Poverty 6 3 1 1 5 4 38. Lack of recognition for youth 2 1 0 0 2 1 39. Totals 210a 69 139
NOTE:Percentages are rounded to nearest whole number; rows may not total correctly. a. Indicates missing data on sex; row will not total correctly.
four factors, (F(3, 1560) = 11.4623, p < .01).2 The results of the multiple regres- sion indicated that the youth’s quotes did vary by factor (F(3, 1548) = 11.78, p < .01) and sex (F(1, 1548) = 9.48, p < .01). We also found an interaction of factor and sex (F(3, 1548) = 4.74, p < .05). A planned contrast testing homogeneity of slopes in the interaction indicated that of the four factors (individual, peer, family, and societal), only peer issues varied by sex. Specifically, females mentioned peer factors in almost 70% of all quotes, but only about 40% of male quotes mentioned peer factors (F(1, 1548) = 14.73, p < .01). No other inter- actions differed, indicating that males and females mentioned individual, family, and societal factor causes of youth violence with the same frequency (see Figure 1).
We also conducted several chi-square analyses to determine whether males and females reported subcategories of causes within factors differ-
394 JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE / November 2004
M E N T I O N S
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
Family
Individual
Peer
Societal
Female Male
Figure 1: Mentions of factors per participant (least square means): Plot of the interactions.
ently. We focused these analyses on the top four subcategories identified in each factor because they included the largest number of youth. The only sex differences found across the top four subcategories in each of the four fac- tors (16 comparisons) were for one peer factor and one family factor. Fe- males were more likely than males to report need for acceptance/peer pres- sure (χ2
(1) = 6.583; p < .05), and guns/gun use in the home (χ2 (1) = 4.722; p <
.05) as causes of violence. Gossip/rumors also indicated a trend for females being more likely than males to report this as a cause (χ2
(1) = 3.604; p = .058)
Quote Analysis
Peer Factors
Specific quotes from the essays provided a picture of the types of issues raised by youth. The overall importance of being accepted by their peers is summed up by these students, who wrote the following:
Trying to fit in is a part of teen violence also. Feeling like you don’t fit in can seem very tricky. You just want to be accepted but those doubts! Feel like you are not cool, not smart, not strong, not pretty, not talented, not rich enough? You are fine as you are! But you may not know it yet.
Whoever said and I quote: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt” must have lost their mind. Words do hurt deep inside, and that’s the reason young kids are bringing guns to school shooting up everybody. They’re tired, tired of the abuse, the hurt, the pain, tired of it all.
Gossip and rumors appear to operate among youth in ways that may eventu- ally lead to violent actions against each other.
Some causes of youth violence is girls talking about other girls. Boys are about the boys. Hair, nails, clothes, shoes, looks, bodies, and other things. When someone gets mad at you, they tell people things and then they fight because this person told their friends what the other person said. Girls are a major part in violence because of “he say, she say.” They will bring a razor, belt, knife, or anything to mess a girl’s face up and sometimes it can be for a boy.
Societal Factors
The societal factors identified by youth included media, alcohol and other drugs, guns, and loss of community infrastructure, but media violence was the most common societal factor discussed. The youth consistently pointed
Zimmerman et al. / ESSAYS ON YOUTH VIOLENCE 395
out that all forms of media—television, movies, music—are influential. As one student wrote,
Kids see violence on TV all the time, and as they get older, violence is on their mind all the time. Violence is always on television. They don’t show movies about college or graduating these days, it’s all about shooting, killing, or any- thing with someone getting hurt.
Family Factors
The family factors written about by youth included parenting behavior and role modeling. A quote about parenting practices, for example, provides some context about the meaning of this subcategory.
Most of them (adolescents) are having problems with the people they live with. Sometimes when they do violence, they don’t get in trouble for it. Their parents don’t care about what they do because most of them get it from their parents.
One student also noted that youth learn from the role modeling that they see from their parents, especially as it relates to violence among family mem- bers: “They see their father punch their mother in the face or their mother beating their sister or their brother because they didn’t finish their food. This is what you learn from.”
The appendix provides example quotes for males and females across each of the four factors for the top four causes indicated by youth. In some instances, males and females expressed very similar ideas, whereas in others, they do not. The pattern somewhat follows the chi-square results, but even when the percentage of male and female quotes was similar for a particular cause, the content of what they said was qualitatively different. Males and females, for example, did not differ in the frequency with which they identi- fied causes related to protection and strength, but males seemed to focus more on the need to express power as a way to avoid problems. One male stu- dent wrote, “Violence, is in a way, power—the power to rule people. If people are afraid of you, you have power over them. You can make them do what you want.” Females wrote more frequently about the dangers of easy access to guns at home and in the streets. Several girls emphasized the importance of keeping guns away from children. One young woman wrote, “When parents or guardians keep lethal weapons around the house, it’s dangerous. They aren’t too careful where they put the weapons, and children find them very easily.” Males were less likely to discuss firearms as a cause of violence, and their quotes generally concerned access to guns from peers or on the street, as
396 JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE / November 2004
shown by the following: “Guns are too easy to get a hold of. Teens have friends that can get guns easily and give them to their friends, too.”
DISCUSSION
Peer factors were the most common cause of violence identified by the middle-school students who composed these essays, followed by societal factors, individual factors, and family factors. Among the subcategories, media violence, parenting practices, need for acceptance, and harassment/ lack of respect were mentioned most frequently. Some differences between the responses of males and females were noted. Females were more likely than males to identify peer factors as a cause of violence. Researchers have found that peer factors may be particularly relevant for females (Caldwell et al., 2004). Boldero and Fallon (1995) also found that adolescent males are less likely to seek support from peers than female adolescents. This may help explain why females were more likely to mention the need for acceptance/ peer pressure as a cause of violence. Qualitative analysis revealed some dif- ferences in the emphases placed on aspects of certain causes of violence. Males, for example, were more apt to identify violence with perceptions of strength and power. This finding is consistent with research indicating that males are more likely to be victims of violence than females (NCES, 1996). The males in our sample may also experience victimization more than females, leading them to the conclusion that youth use violence for self-pro- tection. The sex differences we found are also consistent with Block’s (1983) suggestion that females are socialized more toward interpersonal domains, whereas males are socialized more toward independence (and hence the need for strength and power).
The youth identified many causes of violence that correspond with find- ings from studies that included factors defined by researchers. Among these are poor problem-solving skills (Pepler & Slaby, 1994), association with anti-social peers (Cairns & Cairns, 1991; Dahlberg, 1998; Herrenkohl et al., 2000; Hill et al., 1994; Zimmerman et al., 1998), lack of parental monitoring (Dalhberg, 1998; Resnick et al., 1997; Zimmerman et al., 1998), and expo- sure to violence in the media (Paik & Comstock, 1994). Other risk factors identified in previous research, however, are largely absent from the students’ essays. Among these are early aggressive behavior (Dahlberg, 1998; Guerra et al., 1995; Huesmann et al., 1984; Herrenkohl et al., 2000) and poor school performance (Resnick et al., 1997). The students in our study appeared to place more emphasis than previous research suggests on the contribution of peer factors as a cause of youth violence. Peer pressure and need for accep-
Zimmerman et al. / ESSAYS ON YOUTH VIOLENCE 397
tance were frequently mentioned. Gossip and rumors were also often noted as catalysts for violence. From a developmental perspective, this seems con- sistent with some of the issues facing middle-school students as they negoti- ate the transition from early to late adolescence. Peer influences become increasingly important for adolescents’ lives relative to family influences, although early family experiences are predictive of the type of peer group that youth select (Garnier & Stien, 2002). Many of the essays focused on proxi- mal causes of violence, circumstances that may lead directly to confronta- tion, rather than causes that make more indirect contributions to violence, such as early aggressive behavior. This could be the case because during this period of development, youth commonly rely on inductive, rather than deductive, problem-solving strategies (Foltz, Overton, & Ricco, 1995). That is, they draw conclusions based on multiple confirmatory examples rather than forming more abstract hypotheses. Thus, early adolescents may develop their ideas based on immediately observable experiences, as opposed to considering causes that cannot be substantiated by direct observation.
Although peer factors were the most commonly mentioned as causes of violence, family and parents in particular were also reported as a cause of youth violence. Parenting practices were among the most frequently men- tioned family factors identified as a cause of violence. The youth tended to focus on the lack of parental involvement in the lives of their children. Sev- eral of these quotes observed that some parents do not know or care what their children are doing. This is consistent with past research that identified lack of parental monitoring as a risk factor for violent behavior (Dalhberg, 1998; Resnick et al., 1997; Zimmerman et al., 1998).
Although the perceptions of males and females concerning the causes of violence shared many similarities, several differences were also found. Females were more likely to describe peer factors as causes for violence, and among these factors, need for acceptance/peer pressure was cited more often by females than by males. This is consistent with past research suggesting that females form more intimate peer relationships and attach more impor- tance to these relationships at an earlier age than do early adolescent males (Buhrmester & Furman, 1987). Consequently, adolescent females may need different strategies than their male counterparts to deal with acceptance and peer pressure as they relate to violence. Thornton, Craft, Dalhberg, Lynch, and Bauer (2002) stressed the importance of considering the cultural and demographic context of participants for violence prevention interventions. The results of this study also suggest that prevention efforts may benefit from tailoring programs differently for males and females.
Although the youth voices in this study present an alternative perspective on causes of youth violence, several limitations should be noted. First, the
398 JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE / November 2004
youth participating in the essay contest may not be representative of the middle-school population in the district and may not generalize beyond Flint. Nevertheless, this study reports on youth’s perceptions of causes of violence with a much larger sample than previous research that provided youth with the opportunity to express their own voice. Second, qualitative data analysis raises concerns about reliability of the coding scheme. Our data analytic strategy, however, included a systematic approach of development, check- ing, and rechecking the coding done by the research assistants. We developed a coding scheme based on the analysis of common essays, then several essays were coded to test the utility of our coding scheme, and then the coding was reviewed for consistency and reliability by research assistants who did not participate in the original coding process.
These limitations notwithstanding, the study provides a unique perspec- tive about the antecedents of youth violence. Adolescents’ insights about their own and their peers’ behavior suggest areas of study that have been neglected previously. Many of the students in this sample discussed, for example, the role of gossip and rumors as a trigger for violence. Yet few researchers have examined this cause of adolescent violent behavior. Future studies, with more representative samples, that provide youth an opportunity to express their beliefs with open-ended questions may be helpful. Research that provides youth with opportunities to express their own voice about issues that affect them may be helpful for informing prevention programs that are relevant to the youth. It can help focus the program on topics that con- nect to their worldview and may help motivate youth to participate and take the program seriously.
The authors of the essays in this study appear most concerned with violent actions that affect their daily lives: peer pressure, disrespect, rumors, greed, and jealousy. These events may not result in death or serious injury, but they may be experienced as antecedents of more serious violent acts. This sug- gests that interventions that provide students with strategies to address prov- ocations and stresses from peers and for creating safe environments where students can engage in positive activities with their peers may be beneficial. This is consistent with the recent National Research Council and Institute of Medicine report on characteristics of programs to promote positive youth development (Eccles & Gootman, 2002). Student concerns about violence in the media and the influence of negative parenting practices also reinforce the need to look beyond individual-level interventions to those directed at family and societal factors that contribute to violence. Youth violence prevention may benefit from interventions that address the concerns youth express and reflect their perspectives, but more research that provides youth the oppor- tunity to voice their opinions may be necessary to achieve this goal.
Zimmerman et al. / ESSAYS ON YOUTH VIOLENCE 399
A P
P E
N D
IX T
yp ic
al a
nd E
xc ep
ti on
al Q
uo te
s A
bo ut
t he
C au
se s
of Y
ou th
V io
le nc
e
Fe m
al e
M al
e E
xc ep
ti on
al
A .
In di
vi du
al F
ac to
rs
A 1.
L ac
k of
a ng
er m
an ag
em en
t I
th in
k th
es e
th in
gs c
au se
y ou
th v
io -
le nc
e be
ca us
e pe
op le
le t t
he ir
a ng
er bu
ild u
nt il
th ey
c an
’t ta
ke a
ny m
or e.
M os
t r ea
so ns
w hy
y ou
th v
io le
nc e
st ar
ts is
b ec
au se
k id
s ca
n’ t h
an dl
e al
l o f
th e
ra ge
th at
h as
b ui
lt up
f or
d if
fe re
nt re
as on
s.
B ut
te en
ag er
s do
n ot
c au
se a
ll of
th e
vi ol
en ce
. T he
re a
re m
an y
m or
e pr
is -
on s
an d
re ha
bi lit
at io
ns f
ul l o
f im
m a -
tu re
a du
lts th
at a
ls o
do n’
t k no
w h
ow to
c on
tr ol
th ei
r an
ge r
th an
th er
e ar
e ju
ve ni
le s
an d
ot he
r pl
ac es
f or
te en
ag er
s. A
2. A
tti tu
de s
If y
ou h
av e
a ba
d at
tit ud
e, lo
ok a
t p eo
- pl
e fu
nn y,
o r
ac t s
tu ck
u p,
y ou
c ou
ld ca
us e
yo ut
h vi
ol en
ce .
A no
th er
r ea
so n
w hy
s om
eo ne
w ou
ld r
e- so
rt to
v io
le nc
e is
b ec
au se
th e
w ay
th ey
lo ok
, a nd
th ey
g et
m ad
a nd
y ou
te m
pt th
em to
r es
or t t
o vi
ol en
ce .
Te en
v io
le nc
e us
ua lly
h ap
pe ns
o ve
r th
in gs
th at
c au
se m
e to
w on
de r
an d
as k
w hy
? . .
. W
hy is
it im
po rt
an t t
ha t
so m
eo ne
n ot
f ro
m y
ou r
ne ig
hb or
ho od
w al
ke d
do w
n yo
ur s
tr ee
t a nd
s ai
d so
m et
hi ng
y ou
d id
n’ t l
ik e?
A 3.
G re
ed a
nd je
al ou
sy I
th in
k th
e re
as on
th at
p eo
pl e
ha rm
o th
- er
s is
b ec
au se
th ey
a re
je al
ou s
of th
at pe
rs on
o r
th ey
a re
e nv
io us
o f
w ha
t t he
ot he
r pe
rs on
h as
.
Fo r
so m
e ki
ds , i
t’s r
ea lit
y an
d it’
s w
ha t
th ey
s ee
e ve
ry d
ay , a
nd it
’s w
ha t s
om e
ki ds
fi gh
t o ve
r— gi
rl s,
d ru
gs , m
on ey
, an
d ot
he r
st up
id s
tu ff
.
T he
m or
e hi
gh -t
ec h
ou r
w or
ld g
et s,
th e
m or
e vi
ol en
t w e
st ar
t t o
ge t.
O ne
r ea
- so
n is
b ec
au se
th e
m or
e el
ec tr
on ic
w e
ge t a
nd th
e m
or e
it co
st s
us to
g et
it ,
th e
m or
e pe
op le
w an
t t o
st ea
l i t.
W he
n pe
op le
s ta
rt to
s te
al th
in gs
, t he
m or
e th
ey w
ill b
ea t t
he c
ra p
ou t o
f th
em .
400
A 4.
Pr ot
ec tio
n/ st
re ng
th So
m et
im es
k id
s th
re at
en k
id s
an d
ju st
to b
e sa
fe th
ey b
ri ng
a w
ea po
n to
p ro
- te
ct th
em f
ro m
th e
en em
y. W
he n
a ki
d th
re at
en s
an ot
he r
ki d,
s om
et im
es th
ey d
on ’t
ta ke
it s
er io
us ly
a nd
th in
k no
th in
g el
se o
f it.
T he
n ex
t t hi
ng y
ou kn
ow y
ou m
ig ht
e nd
u p
in th
e em
er -
ge nc
y ro
om . W
he n
yo u
ar e
te lli
ng so
m eo
ne w
ha t s
om eo
ne d
id to
y ou
o r
so m
eo ne
e ls
e, d
on ’t
th in
k of
it a
s ta
t - tli
ng , t
hi nk
o f
it as
g et
tin g
he lp
f or
bo th
o f
yo ur
f ut
ur es
s o
yo u
w on
’t e
nd up
in o
ne o
f th
os e
tw o
pl ac
es , t
he gr
av ey
ar d
or p
ri so
n.
I pe
rs on
al ly
th in
k th
at p
eo pl
e co
m m
it vi
ol en
t a ct
s to
p ro
ve a
p oi
nt , s
o th
at a
pe rs
on c
an b
e co
ns id
er ed
th e
ha rd
es t
or th
e to
ug he
st g
uy .
V io
le nc
e, is
in a
w ay
, p ow
er . T
he p
ow er
to r
ul e
pe op
le , i
f pe
op le
a re
a fr
ai d
of yo
u, y
ou h
av e
po w
er o
ve r
th em
. Y ou
ca n
m ak
e th
em d
o w
ha t y
ou w
an t.
B .
Pe er
f ac
to rs
B 1.
N ee
d fo
r ac
ce pt
an ce
/ pe
er p
re ss
ur e
I th
in k
so m
e po
ss ib
le c
au se
s ar
e pe
er pr
es su
re . W
he n
an ot
he r
st ud
en t p
re s-
su re
s hi
s or
h er
p ee
rs , t
ha t c
ou ld
m ak
e a
pe rs
on f
ee l l
ef t o
ut , s
o th
ey g
o ou
t a nd
b uy
g un
s or
c ig
ar et
te s
to lo
ok co
ol o
r to
fi t i
n.
So m
e fe
el li
ke th
ey n
ee d
at te
nt io
n so
th ey
g o
an d
se ek
it s
om ep
la ce
e ls
e, an
d m
an y
a tim
e w
ha t t
he y
fi nd
is a
c- ce
pt an
ce in
a g
an g
or w
ith a
b ad
cr ow
d w
ho ju
st w
an t t
o us
e th
em f
or m
is ch
ie vo
us d
ee ds
.
T ry
in g
to fi
t i n
is a
p ar
t o f
te en
v io
le nc
e al
so . F
ee lin
g lik
e yo
u do
n’ t f
it in
c an
se em
v er
y tr
ic ky
. Y ou
ju st
w an
t t o
be ac
ce pt
ed b
ut th
os e
do ub
ts !
Fe el
li ke
yo u
ar e
no t c
oo l,
no t s
m ar
t, no
t st
ro ng
, n ot
p re
tty , n
ot ta
le nt
ed , n
ot ri
ch e
no ug
h? Y
ou a
re fi
ne a
s yo
u ar
e! B
ut y
ou m
ay n
ot k
no w
it y
et . (c
on ti
nu ed
)
401
A P
P E
N D
IX (c
on ti
nu ed
)
Fe m
al e
M al
e E
xc ep
ti on
al
B 2.
H ar
as sm
en t/
la ck
o f
re sp
ec t
T he
w ay
p eo
pl e’
s at
tit ud
es a
re to
da y,
n o
on e
w ill
g o
a da
y w
ith ou
t b ei
ng c
ri ti -
ci ze
d, a
nd y
ou w
ill n
ev er
k no
w if
a fi
gh t o
r m
ur de
r w
ill o
cc ur
. P eo
pl e
th in
k to
o hi
gh ly
o f
th em
se lv
es , s
o th
at ev
en tu
al ly
le ad
s to
s te
re ot
yp in
g, w
hi ch
a ls
o co
ul d
le ad
to p
hy si
ca l
co nt
ac t (
an d
no t i
n a
go od
w ay
). So
m e
pe op
le te
nd to
s te
re ot
yp e
pe o-
pl e
fr om
w ha
t t he
y w
ea r,
lo ok
li ke
, o r
th ey
m ay
e ve
n ju
dg e
th em
b y
th e
w ay
th ey
w al
k or
ta lk
. T ha
t i s
no t n
ee de
d an
d no
o ne
is p
er fe
ct . T
he se
a re
o nl
y a
fe w
o f
th e
ri di
cu lo
us c
au se
s/ re
as on
s of
w hy
te en
v io
le nc
e or
a ny
k in
d of
vi ol
en ce
o cc
ur s.
T he
re a
re m
an y
ca us
es o
f yo
ut h
vi ol
en ce
, b ut
h er
e ar
e a
fe w
e xa
m pl
es .
A c
hi ld
c ou
ld b
e ha
ra ss
ed a
t s ch
oo l
by a
b ul
ly . H
e m
ay n
ot h
av e
an yo
ne to
te ll
or a
ny on
e to
ta ke
h im
s er
io us
ly .
H e
ge ts
s o
m ad
, u ps
et , o
r fr
us tr
at ed
th at
h e
ju st
w an
ts to
g et
“ ev
en .”
T he
ne xt
e xa
m pl
e is
th at
y ou
h av
e ki
ds th
at d
on ’t
h av
e th
e in
te lli
ge nc
e to
ju st
w al
k aw
ay . T
he se
d ay
s th
ey a
re e
ith er
af ra
id o
r as
ha m
ed to
“ tu
rn th
e ot
he r
ch ee
k. ”
W ho
ev er
s ai
d an
d I
qu ot
e: “
St ic
ks a
nd st
on es
m ay
b re
ak m
y bo
ne s,
b ut
w or
ds w
ill n
ev er
h ur
t” m
us t h
av e
lo st
th ei
r m
in d.
W or
ds d
o hu
rt d
ee p
in -
si de
, a nd
th at
’s th
e re
as on
y ou
ng k
id s
ar e
br in
gi ng
gu ns
to sc
ho ol
,s ho
ot in
g up
ev er
yb od
y. T
he y’
re ti
re d,
ti re
d of
th e
ab us
e, th
e hu
rt ,t
he pa
in ,t
ir ed
of it
al l.
402
B 3.
G an
g m
em be
rs hi
p M
ay be
th ey
li ve
in a
s oc
ie ty
w he
re p
eo -
pl e
ha ve
g an
gs a
nd s
el l d
ru gs
, y ou
r ki
ds m
ay g
et in
vo lv
ed .
In g
an gs
, i t’s
n ot
hi ng
b ut
v io
le nc
e fr
om ju
m pi
ng p
eo pl
e to
c ut
tin g
pe op
le to
sh oo
tin g
pe op
le .
A ls
o, te
en s
m ay
f or
m g
an gs
th at
m ay
co ns
is t o
f a
pe rs
on b
ru ta
lly b
ea tin
g or
ra pi
ng a
no th
er in
no ce
nt te
en /p
er so
n an
d al
l j us
t t o
be p
ar t o
f a
gr ou
p of
an ge
r- fi
lle d
pe op
le th
at c
au se
tr ou
bl e.
W he
n te
en s
go in
to g
an gs
o r
cr ea
te ga
ng s,
th ey
a re
p ut
tin g
th ei
r fu
tu re
a t
ri sk
. I t m
ig ht
b e
to o
la te
to h
av e
a fu
- tu
re if
th e
w ro
ng p
er so
n co
m es
ar ou
nd . T
he y
us ua
lly h
av e
a sy
m bo
l or
c ol
or to
r ep
re se
nt w
hi ch
g an
g/ gr
ou p
th ey
’r e
in /f
ro m
. I f
yo u
ha pp
en to
m is
ta ke
a g
an g
m em
be r
fo r
on e
of yo
ur s,
a nd
y ou
th ro
w th
e w
ro ng
s ig
n or
w ea
r th
e w
ro ng
c ol
or d
ow n
th e
w ro
ng s
tr ee
t, th
at a
ls o
pu ts
y ou
r fu
- tu
re a
t r is
k. A
nd n
ot to
m en
tio n
th e
em ot
io na
l s tr
es s
it w
ill c
au se
y ou
r fa
m ily
.
(c on
ti nu
ed )
403
A P
P E
N D
IX (c
on ti
nu ed
)
Fe m
al e
M al
e E
xc ep
ti on
al
B 4.
G os
si p/
ru m
or s
A m
aj or
p ro
bl em
in y
ou th
v io
le nc
e is
th at
th e
yo ut
h do
n’ t k
no w
h ow
to ke
ep th
ei r
m ou
th s
sh ut
. P eo
pl e
ta lk
ab ou
t t hi
ng s
th ey
d on
’t k
no w
a bo
ut .
W hi
ch w
ill s
pr ea
d ar
ou nd
s ch
oo ls
, co
m m
un iti
es , a
nd o
rg an
iz at
io ns
. S o
pe op
le w
ill h
ea r
so m
e th
in gs
a nd
f ee
l of
fe nd
ed . I
f th
e yo
ut h
w ou
ld n’
t sp
re ad
g os
si p
ab ou
t o th
er p
eo pl
e, v
io -
le nc
e w
ou ld
n’ t g
et s
ta rt
ed .
Y ou
th v
io le
nc e
ha s
af fe
ct ed
m e
lo ts
o f
tim es
. F or
e xa
m pl
e, I
w ou
ld g
et in
tr ou
bl e
be ca
us e
I ta
lk a
bo ut
p eo
pl e
an d
on e
da y
I m
et m
y m
at ch
. I t s
ta rt
s by
s om
eo ne
s ai
d so
m et
hi ng
a bo
ut m
e an
d th
en I
w en
t o ve
r to
th em
[ si
c] .
G ue
ss w
ha t h
e di
d, h
e pu
nc he
d m
e an
d pu
sh ed
m e
on m
y ch
es t.
So m
e ca
us es
o f
yo ut
h vi
ol en
ce a
re g
ir ls
ta lk
in g
ab ou
t o th
er g
ir ls
. B oy
s ar
e ab
ou t t
he b
oy s.
H ai
r, na
ils , c
lo th
es ,
sh oe
s, lo
ok s,
b od
ie s,
a nd
o th
er th
in gs
. W
he n
so m
eo ne
g et
s m
ad a
t y ou
, t he
y te
ll pe
op le
th in
gs a
nd th
en th
ey fi
gh t
be ca
us e
th is
p er
so n
to ld
th ei
r fr
ie nd
s w
ha t t
he o
th er
p er
so n
sa id
. G ir
ls a
re a
m aj
or p
ar t i
n vi
ol en
ce b
ec au
se o
f “h
e sa
y, s
he s
ay .”
T he
y w
ill b
ri ng
a r
az or
, be
lt, k
ni fe
, o r
an yt
hi ng
to m
es s
a gi
rl ’s
f ac
e up
, a nd
s om
et im
es it
c an
be f
or a
b oy
.
C .
Fa m
ily f
ac to
rs
C 1.
Pa re
nt in
g pr
ac tic
es So
m et
im es
I f
ee l t
ha t c
hi ld
ho od
is s
to -
le n
fr om
c hi
ld re
n. C
hi ld
re n
ar e
ra is
- in
g th
em se
lv es
m or
e an
d m
or e
to da
y, th
ey ’r
e ho
m e
al on
e w
ith n
o on
e to
s ay
“N o,
d on
’t p
la y
w ith
g un
s,” “
N o,
do n’
t r un
th e
st re
et s
w ith
y ou
r fr
ie nd
s, ”
“N o,
d on
’t s
te al
f ro
m th
e ne
ig hb
or ho
od s
to re
.” W
he re
a re
th e
pa re
nt s?
M y
fi na
l a nd
m os
t i m
po rt
an t e
xa m
pl e
is th
e la
ck o
f m
en to
rs o
r pa
re nt
s sh
ow -
in g
in te
re st
b y
ta lk
in g
or g
et tin
g di
- re
ct ly
in vo
lv ed
in th
ei r
ch ild
re n’
s da
ily a
ct iv
iti es
. T al
ki ng
to k
id s
ab ou
t ho
w th
ei r
da y
w en
t, w
ha t t
he y
ar e
w at
ch in
g on
te le
vi si
on , o
r th
e m
us ic
th ey
a re
li st
en in
g to
c an
m ak
e a
bi g
im pa
ct a
nd d
if fe
re nc
e in
c ho
os in
g ri
gh t o
r w
ro ng
.
M os
t o f
th em
a re
h av
in g
pr ob
le m
s w
ith th
e pe
op le
th ey
li ve
w ith
. S om
et im
es w
he n
th ey
d o
vi ol
en ce
, t he
y do
n’ t g
et in
tr ou
bl e
fo r
it. T
he ir
p ar
en ts
d on
’t ca
re a
bo ut
w ha
t t he
y do
b ec
au se
m os
t of
th em
g et
it f
ro m
th ei
r pa
re nt
s.
404
C 2.
L ac
k of
p os
iti ve
pa re
nt al
r ol
e m
od el
T he
m ai
n re
as on
k id
s m
y ag
e ar
e ca
us -
in g
vi ol
en ce
is b
ec au
se th
ey th
in k
it’ s
a w
ay o
f lif
e. T
he y
ar e
ge tti
ng a
ll of
th e
ba d
in fl
ue nc
e fr
om th
ei r
el de
rs . I
al so
b el
ie ve
th ei
r pa
re nt
s or
e ld
er s
ar e
do in
g so
m et
hi ng
w ro
ng . A
ls o,
th ei
r pa
re nt
s th
in k
th at
th er
e is
n ot
hi ng
w ro
ng .
T he
c au
se s
of y
ou th
v io
le nc
e ar
e re
al ly
pa re
nt s
be ca
us e
w he
n us
k id
s ar
e ar
ou nd
a du
lts th
at d
o th
in gs
li ke
sm ok
e to
ba cc
o, s
m ok
e w
ee d,
d o
dr ug
s, d
ri nk
a lc
oh ol
, a nd
c ar
ry g
un s
ar ou
nd in
a fa
m ily
o r
ho us
e en
vi ro
n - m
en t,
w e
so m
et im
es g
et in
fl ue
nc ed
by th
ei r
be ha
vi or
a nd
s ta
rt a
ct in
g lik
e th
em .
H at
e w
or ds
e qu
al H
at e
cr im
es is
w ha
t I sa
w p
os te
d on
a s
ig n.
T he
se w
or ds
an d
cr im
es c
an o
nl y
be le
ar ne
d. L
ea rn
ed th
ro ug
h th
at th
in g
ca lle
d vi
ol en
ce .
L ea
rn ed
th ro
ug h
he ar
in g.
L ea
rn ed
th ro
ug h
se ei
ng .
L ea
rn ed
th ro
ug h
fe el
in g.
L ea
rn ed
th ro
ug h
be lie
vi ng
. N
ot th
e m
us ic
o r
th e
m ov
ie s,
bu t t
he r
ea l i
nf lu
en ce
s. Pa
re nt
s C
3. Fa
m ily
v io
le nc
e T
he y
he ar
th ei
r pa
re nt
s ar
gu in
g w
ith ea
ch o
th er
a nd
th in
k th
at it
is a
lr ig
ht to
d o
w ha
t t he
ir p
ar en
ts a
re d
oi ng
.
If th
ei r
fr ie
nd s
an d
fa m
ily a
re v
io le
nt ar
ou nd
th em
, t he
n yo
u ca
n’ t e
xp ec
t th
em n
ot to
b e
vi ol
en t.
If y
ou r
pa re
nt s
ar e
al w
ay s
in f
ro nt
o f
yo u,
th ey
a re
sh ow
in g
vi ol
en ce
.
T he
y se
e th
ei r
fa th
er p
un ch
th ei
r m
ot he
r in
th e
fa ce
o r
th ei
r m
ot he
r be
at in
g th
ei r
si st
er o
r th
ei r
br ot
he r
be -
ca us
e th
ey d
id n’
t f in
is h
th ei
r fo
od .
T hi
s is
w ha
t y ou
le ar
n fr
om .
C 4.
G un
(s )/
gu n
us e
in h
om e
W he
n pa
re nt
s or
g ua
rd ia
ns k
ee p
le th
al w
ea po
ns a
ro un
d th
e ho
us e,
it ’s
d an
- ge
ro us
. T he
y ar
en ’t
to o
ca re
fu l w
he re
th ey
p ut
th e
w ea
po ns
, a nd
c hi
ld re
n fi
nd th
em v
er y
ea si
ly .
So m
e pa
re nt
s la
y th
ei r
gu ns
ev er
yw he
re .
L et
’s f
ac e
re al
ity : C
hi ld
re n
ar e
at tr
ac te
d to
w ea
po ns
. . .
. T ha
t’s w
hy p
ar en
ts sh
ou ld
k ee
p th
ei r
w ea
po ns
lo ck
ed in
a sa
fe p
la ce
s o
th ei
r ch
ild re
n w
on ’t
ha ve
a cc
es s
to th
em , r
eg ar
dl es
s of
w ha
t t he
ir a
ge m
ay b
e.
(c on
ti nu
ed )
405
A P
P E
N D
IX (c
on ti
nu ed
)
Fe m
al e
M al
e E
xc ep
ti on
al
D . S
oc ie
ta l F
ac to
rs
D 1.
M ed
ia v
io le
nc e
T V
is a
m ai
n so
ur ce
o f
vi ol
en ce
in to
- da
y’ s
so ci
et y.
T he
w ay
it is
p or
tr ay
ed to
b e
gl am
or ou
s an
d so
m et
hi ng
e ve
ry -
on e
do es
is r
ig ht
. K id
s fe
el if
s om
e - on
e on
T V
c an
d o
it, th
at th
ey c
an d
o it
to o.
S om
e do
n’ t u
nd er
st an
d it
is on
ly m
ak e
be lie
ve .
I ha
ve a
ls o
se en
v io
le nc
e on
te le
vi si
on .
I ha
ve s
ee n
it on
th e
Je rr
y Sp
ri ng
er Sh
ow , i
n m
ov ie
s, a
nd e
ve n
ca rt
oo ns
. I do
n’ t h
av e
to le
av e
m y
ho us
e to
e xp
e - ri
en ce
v io
le nc
e, a
ll I
ha ve
to d
o is
tu rn
o n
th e
T V
o r
ra di
o.
K id
s se
e vi
ol en
ce o
n T
V a
ll th
e tim
e, an
d as
th ey
g et
o ld
er , v
io le
nc e
is o
n th
ei r
m in
d al
l t he
ti m
e. V
io le
nc e
is al
w ay
s on
te le
vi si
on . T
he y
do n’
t sh
ow m
ov ie
s ab
ou t c
ol le
ge o
r gr
ad u -
at in
g th
es e
da ys
, i t’s
a ll
ab ou
t s ho
ot -
in g,
k ill
in g,
o r
an yt
hi ng
w ith
s om
eo ne
ge tti
ng h
ur t.
D 2.
A cc
es s/
ab us
e of
d ru
gs /a
lc oh
ol D
ru gs
is a
b ig
c au
se b
ec au
se m
ur de
r is
co m
m on
pl ac
e in
th e
dr ug
b us
in es
s. A
lm os
t e ve
ry da
y so
m eo
ne is
g et
tin g
ki lle
d ov
er d
ru gs
.
A ro
un d
m y
ne ig
hb or
ho od
is a
b ad
ne ig
hb or
[ si
c] , p
eo pl
e se
ll a
va ri
et y
of dr
ug s,
e ve
ry on
e se
lls it
, m e
an d
m y
fr ie
nd h
av e
to fi
gh t w
he n
w e
w al
k, ta
lk , a
nd g
o to
s ch
oo l.
A s
a 13
-y ea
r- ol
d fe
m al
e, m
y lif
e ha
s be
en af
fe ct
ed b
y m
an y
th in
gs s
uc h
as d
ru gs
, vi
ol en
ce , a
nd s
o on
. M y
lif e
ha s
be en
af fe
ct ed
b y
dr ug
s fo
r se
ve ra
l r ea
so ns
. T
he r
ea so
ns a
re a
ro un
d m
y ne
ig hb
or -
ho od
th er
e ar
e a
lo t o
f pe
op le
s itt
in g
ar ou
nd o
n th
e co
rn er
s sm
ok in
g an
d dr
in ki
ng . P
eo pl
e ar
e st
an di
ng o
n th
e co
rn er
a sk
in g
if y
ou s
m ok
e or
d ri
nk .
T he
y ar
e tr
yi ng
to in
fl ue
nc e
yo u
to d
o th
e w
ro ng
th in
g. D
3. E
as y
ac ce
ss to
g un
s T
he c
au se
s of
y ou
th v
io le
nc e
ar e
lo ts
of th
in gs
. O ne
o f
th os
e is
g un
s. G
un s
ca n
ki ll
in st
an tly
. T ha
t’s w
hy y
ou sh
ou ld
k ee
p yo
ur g
un lo
ck ed
u p
w he
re y
ou r
ki ds
c an
’t g
et to
it .
G un
s ar
e to
o ea
sy to
g et
a h
ol d
of .
Te en
s ha
ve f
ri en
ds th
at c
an g
et g
un s
ea si
ly a
nd g
iv e
th em
to th
ei r
fr ie
nd s
to o.
G un
s ne
ed to
b e
of f
th e
st re
et . I
t i s
af fe
ct -
in g
ou r
liv es
, b ec
au se
p eo
pl e
ar e
dy in
g on
th is
e ar
th . W
e ar
e lo
si ng
p eo
pl e
fr om
be in
g sh
ot a
nd k
ill ed
o ve
r st
up id
s tu
ff ,
lik e
dr ug
s. T
he y
ne ed
to g
et g
un s
of f
th e
st re
et b
ec au
se o
ur p
eo pl
e ar
e dy
in g,
an d
I th
in k
it is
n ot
r ig
ht .
406
D 4.
L os
s of
co m
m un
ity in
fr as
tr uc
tu re
T he
c au
se o
f yo
ut h
vi ol
en ce
is in
m y
ne ig
hb or
ho od
; p eo
pl e
ar e
st ea
lin g,
fi gh
tin g,
a nd
s om
et im
es s
ho ot
in g.
I do
n’ t l
ik e
to th
in k
I liv
e in
a b
ad ne
ig hb
or ho
od f
or th
e si
m pl
e fa
ct th
at a
lo t o
f el
de rl
y pe
op le
li ve
b y
m e.
B ut
w he
n pe
op le
a re
s te
al in
g bi
ke s
an d
fo od
, i t’
s no
t s o
ha rd
to d
en y
th e
vi o -
le nc
e in
m y
ne ig
hb or
ho od
.
T he
r ea
so n
th es
e th
in gs
a re
h ap
pe ni
ng ar
e be
ca us
e w
e as
c om
m un
ity , n
ei gh
- bo
rs , t
ea ch
er s,
p ol
ic e,
a nd
o th
er o
ff i -
ci al
s ar
e no
t t ak
in g
th e
tim e
ou t t
o ta
lk to
k id
s an
d te
ll th
em a
bo ut
th e
co ns
eq ue
nc es
a nd
r ep
er cu
ss io
ns th
at vi
ol en
ce a
nd d
ru gs
h av
e.
T o
se e
vi ol
en ce
in th
e st
re et
s, to
k no
w th
e co
ps d
on ’t
w al
k th
e be
at , i
t g oe
s fr
om pe
rs on
to p
er so
n, w
ith n
o di
sg ui
se , t
he n
it sp
re ad
s ou
t l ik
e w
ild b
ut te
rf lie
s. T
he sh
oo tin
gs , t
he c
hi ld
re n,
th e
m an
o n
th e
st re
et , w
ith a
ll th
is c
or ru
pt io
n, it
’s h
ar d
to s
pe ak
.
407
NOTES
1. Readers interested in this method are referred to SAS Institute (2000, p. 314). The method is straightforward and utilized the STACK command. It takes (for example) four columns in a data set of 25 rows and transforms that into one column containing 100 rows. The transformation allowed us to rely on multiple regression techniques such as contrasts testing homogeneity of slopes.
2. Readers unfamiliar with this statistical approach will note that the degrees of freedom reflect the four factors (individual, peer, family, and societal) and the 1,564 rows in the concate- nated data set.
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Marc A. Zimmerman is professor and co-chair of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He is the principal investigator for Flint’s Youth Violence Prevention Center.
Susan Morrel-Samuels is the managing director of Flint’s Youth Violence Prevention Center and the Prevention Research Center of Michigan. She is a lecturer at the Univer- sity of Michigan School of Public Health.
Naima Wong is a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.
Darian Tarver was a graduate student at the University of Michigan School of Public Health at the time this article was written.
Deana Rabiah was a graduate student at the University of Michigan School of Public Health at the time this article was written.
Sharrice White was a graduate student at the University of Michigan School of Public Health at the time this article was written.
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