Youth Violence

Youth Violence

Violence is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Some of the foremost perpetrators of destruction across the world are mainly youth who are motivated by different reasons. Due to the sensitive nature of youth violence and the risk factors entailed, it is vital for public health to focus more on youth violence since given that it is increasingly becoming a big concern as a leading cause of mortality. Of interest to public health are the trends, risk factors, and interventions on youth violence.

Some of the current trends in youth violence include school and public shootings and the proliferation of arms. Over recent years, the rate at which school shootings have occurred has significantly increased, with most of the shootings being orchestrated by youth and school-going children. These rampant shootings not only in schools but also in public spaces have sparked public debates on gun ownership and licensing and the role of depression and mental health among the youth (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). Thereby, the government has reviewed rules governing gun licensing and the role of the environment in mental health among shooters. Risk factors and protective factors also serve to inform the decisions and policy formulation in the fight against gun violence.

At the core of the risk factors are the personal characteristics and the environmental factors that promote violence among the youth. Notably, there is a high chance that a person will end up being violent, given that that the environment in which he/she grew up in was characterized by violence. Additionally, early exposure to violence is also one of the risk factors of youth violence (Pool et al., 2017). A concern for public health is that these are the key predictors that will aid in approaching deaths resulting from youth violence.

To sum it up, scholars, researchers, government and public health experts should relook at the approach to violence among the youth. Many factors, including early exposures, mental well-being, environment, and access to weapons, are some of the aspects that may be evaluated as directly linked to youth violence. Programs and initiatives should be created to tackle gun violence based on risk factors.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, March 2). Youth Violence. https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/index.html

Pool, A. C., Patterson, F., Luna, I. Y., Hohl, B., & Bauer, K. W. (2017). Ten-Year Secular Trends in Youth Violence: Results From the Philadelphia Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2003-2013. Journal of School Health, 87(4), 244-252. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12491