Highly publicized school shootings have made the cities of Littleton, Jonesboro, and Paducah exemplars of the problem of youth violence. Until youth violence invaded the presumed safety of suburban and small-town America, it was easy to conclude that violent kids resided only in the inner city and were not a concern for most of us. The pervasive nature of sin and the twisted values of our culture bring the potential for violence to every community. Although the school shootings are salient examples of violence by young people, most youth violence is less sensational and occurs far more frequently. This everyday violence is a serious social problem that should stir the Christian counseling community to action to prevent young people from becoming violent and to help those already acting out violently to control their behavior. Many of the causes of youth violence are rooted in a societal message that teaches children that violence is acceptable. Interventions to combat violence must include both work with individual young people who are showing warning signs of violent behavior and community-wide efforts that create a climate in which violence is unthinkable.
The Problem of Youth Violence Recent news reports that point to a decrease in overall crime rates have led many to conclude that our society is becoming less violent. Actually, the overall crime rate has dropped only because of the post-Baby Boom decline in the number of teenagers. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, young people are responsible for 26% of all violent crimes.1 As a result, fewer teenagers means less crime overall. Teens are becoming increasingly violent. One in five kids will commit a serious violent act by age 18.2 In 1994, 95,000 juveniles were part of the prison population, a 20% increase since 1984.3 If current trends continue, violence arrest rates for juveniles will increase 22% through the year 2010.4 Much of the violence committed by young people is directed at their peers. One in 20 students reports that he or she has felt too unsafe to attend school at least once in the past month.5 Teens are three times more likely than adults to be victimized by violence.6 Six to seven youths are murdered every day, mostly in the inner city.7 Of all victims of violent crime, 1 in 4 is under 18.8
The Causes of Youth Violence The first step in addressing any serious problem is to determine its root causes. One leading cause of youth violence is poverty. The Children’s Defense Fund reports that by the year 2001, 17 million U.S. children will be living in poverty.9 Crime provides status, monetary gain, and a feeling of power for kids in impoverished areas who have limited resources and feel locked out of educational and employment opportunities. Gang involvement is often high among youth who live in poverty. Three out of four juveniles who commit murders and assaults are gang members.10 Substance abuse also is strongly related to violence. Much youth violence is related to drug trafficking. Drug dealers often arm themselves with illegal guns for protection and use these weapons in violent crimes. A study of youth drug and alcohol use reported that young people who use these substances are far more likely to be involved in physical fights, to commit vandalism, and to be frequently absent from school. Witnessing violence or being a victim of violence increases the risk of becoming violent. Children exposed to domestic violence are more likely to act out violently. Violence witnessed on TV and in movies and video games also puts kids at risk for committing violence. Research has demonstrated that watching violence creates a fear of becoming a victim, a callous attitude toward violent acts, interest in committing a violent act, and a desire for the rewards available as a result of violence. 11 A long-term study of boys found that those who had a high exposure to television violence at the age of 8 were more likely to have committed violent acts by age 30.12 The boys responsible for the Columbine murders were known to enjoy violent video games and movies. A
Christian Response to Youth Violence Violence is a problem of the soul. The transforming power of the gospel can change violent kids. Being connected to God will give them something outside of themselves to focus on and will help them stand against our culture’s violent messages. One of the students killed at Columbine High School, Cassie Bernall, is a testimony to the power of God working through a church community to change a young person’s life. Once caught up in witchcraft and thoughts of suicide, Cassie became a Christian and got involved in her church’s youth group. Cassie was martyred at Columbine for telling the killers that she believed in God. Exposing kids to violence in the media should be unacceptable to Christians. I recently saw a sign at a local movie theater that read, “No children under 5 admitted to R-rated movies after 6 p.m.” If movie theaters must institute policies to prevent adults from exposing very young children to the violence prevalent in R-rated movies, the church needs to do more to teach young parents about the destructive nature of violent images on young minds. Parents need help learning how to channel children into positive activities and away from depictions of violence. Christian counselors have important roles to play in teaching parents about the danger of exposing children to violence. Concern for the poor and for broken families are important Christian values. Christians can stem the tide of youth violence by supporting families in crisis and creating safe places for children who are experiencing domestic violence. The church also can help by fighting poverty and working to improve living conditions in the inner city.
Treating and Preventing Youth Violence The problem of youth violence must be addressed on both the individual and societal levels. Christian counselors should be watchful for warning signs in young clients, especially those with a history of oppositional behavior, substance abuse, gang involvement, fighting with peers, and those who have been victimized by family violence. Warning signs include impulsivity, risk-taking behavior, social isolation and withdrawal, a decline in school performance, problems controlling anger, a lack of empathy, and threats of violence (especially with a plan to carry out the threat). In many states, counselors are legally obligated to report specific threats of violence by clients to the police. Hospitalization also should be considered for young people at immediate risk for acting out violently. Since violence is mostly a learned behavior, it can be unlearned. One key to treating violent youth is to intervene early. Eight year olds acting aggressively in school are much easier to treat than 16 year olds involved in drugs and gangs. Treatment should include interventions to increase the child’s self-esteem, to teach anger and stress management, and to help the child develop social and problem-solving skills, good peer relationships, and impulse control. Family counseling and support services for the child’s family are also important. Consider involving potentially violent young people in mentoring programs where adult role models can guide them in positive directions. Additionally, it is important to determine if clients have learning, attentional, or substance abuse problems that may be leading them to act out aggressively. At a psychiatric hospital where I worked as an intern, the local police once brought in a nine-year-old boy who had been discovered with a switchblade at a park. The boy admitted to being involved with a gang who had instructed him to stab a boy who belonged to a rival gang. During treatment, the boy learned ways to control his anger and to solve problems nonviolently. The hospital staff taught his mother how to contain the boy’s violent outbursts and helped her find after-school programs that would keep him away from gang members. At follow-up several months after leaving the hospital, the boy’s school grades had improved and he had made new friends who had a positive influence on him. Beyond treating individual violent kids, Christian counselors can work to prevent violence by becoming part of community-wide initiatives to create a climate where violence is unacceptable. One recent movement in violence prevention in schools is character education. The concept behind character education is to encourage the development of virtues such as justice, honesty, kindness, fairness, responsibility, respect for self and others, courage, self-control, cooperation, compassion, generosity, patience, and perseverance. The best character education programs are highly integrated, community-wide efforts that transform the school into a caring community where all members—students, faculty, and staff—are expected to be people of character. Conflict-resolution and problem-solving skills are often taught along with virtues, but the main thrust of these programs is to help children become the kinds of people who find violent behavior unthinkable and intolerable. When local school boards develop these programs, they often will form a community panel to help shape the curriculum. This is a golden opportunity for Christian counselors to take leadership roles in guiding an effort aimed at preventing violence and improving the quality of life for all members of a community. There is no quick solution to the problem of youth violence. Our best hope in eliminating it is to address its causes on an individual and societal level. Christian counselors have the opportunity to work at both levels to see that the violent trends are reversed before any more young lives are lost.
Nancy K. Scammacca, M.A., is a doctoral student in school psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.
