Photo of the printed cover of the publication "The CMHS Approach to Enhancing Youth Resilience and Preventing Youth Violence in Schools and Communities"    

The CMHS Approach to Enhancing Youth Resilience and
Preventing Youth Violence in Schools and Communities

For more information contact: Bernard S. Arons, M.D., Director, Center for Mental Health Services,
The Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 17-105, Rockville, Maryland 20857
1-800-789-2647 • www.mentalhealth.org

  


Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

The Need for Resilience Enhancing and Violence Prevention Initiatives

Understanding Youth Violence
Patterns of Adolescent Violence
Perspectives on Violence
Risk and Protective Factors and Processes
Ethnic Minority and Cultural Issues

The Public Health Approach to Enhancing Resilience and Preventing Violence in Schools and Communities
Preventing Violent Behaviors–Mental Health Interventions
The Role of Schools

How to Intervene: What Programs Work?
What Are the Issues?
Evidence-Based Interventions

Conclusion

Appendixes
Exhibit 1—Model and Promising Programs
Exhibit 2—Evidence-Based Programs That Foster Resilience
Exhibit 3—Exemplary, Model, and Promising Programs to Strengthen Families

Bibliography


link to previous section link to next section
Understanding Youth Violence
Risk and Protective Factors and Processes

Kids can walk around trouble if there is some place to walk to and someone to walk with.
—Ex-gang member Tito, Quoted in McLaughlin, Irby, and Langman, 1994


THE ISSUE OF RISK

In the past decade, experts in the field of prevention have begun to design programs that increase protective processes and/or decrease risk factors for delinquency and other adolescent problem behaviors. In understanding which youth are at greatest risk for suicidal behaviors (thoughts, threats, attempts), the most important factors that emerge are depression or related illnesses, drug involvement, alcohol use, and aggression. There is a large literature available documenting the risk factors in youth. In reviewing more than 30 years of research across a variety of disciplines, Hawkins and Catalano (1992) identified 19 risk factors that are reliable predictors of adolescent delinquency, violence, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and school dropout. These factors are presented in the table on the next page.

Table 1
Correlation Between Risk Factors and Adolescent Problem Behaviors
RISK FACTORS
Substance
Abuse
Delinquency
Teen
Pregnancy
School
Dropout
Violence
Community          
Availability of Drugs
•
      
•
Availability of Firearms  
•
    
•
Community Laws and Norms Favorable
Toward Drug Use, Firearms, and Crime
•
•
    
•
Media Portrayals of Violence
        
•
Transitions and Mobility
•
•
  
•
  
Law Neighborhood Attachment and
Community Disorganization
•
•
    
•
Extreme Economic Deprivation
•
•
•
•
•
FAMILY          
Family History of the Problem Behavior
•
•
•
•
•
Family Management Problems
•
•
•
•
•
Family Conflict
•
•
•
•
•
Favorable Parental Attitudes and Involvement in the Problem Behavior
•
•
    
•
School          
Early and Persistent Antisocial Behavior
•
•
•
•
•
Academic Failure Beginning in Late Elementary School
•
•
•
•
•
Lack of Commitment to School
•
•
•
•
•
Individual/Peer          
Alienation and Rebelliousness
•
•
  
•
  
Friends Who Engage in the Problem Behavior
•
•
•
•
  
Favorable Attitudes Toward the Problem Behavior
•
•
•
•
•
Early Initiation of the Problem Behavior
•
•
•
•
•
Constitutional Factors  
•
•
  
•
           
           

Ages of Highest Risk
National self-report studies indicate that the age of highest risk for the initiation of serious violent behavior is between 15 and 16, and that the risk of initiating violence after age 20 is extremely low. Youth 16 and 17 years of age have the highest rates of participation in serious violent acts. After age 17, participation rates drop significantly, and it is unlikely that persons will become serious violent offenders if they have not initiated such behavior by age 20 (Elliott, 1994).

THE ISSUE OF PROTECTION

Research on resilience has added much to our knowledge of protective factors and processes. In the words of noted resilience researcher Dr. Emmy Werner, “Protective buffers…appear to make a more profound impact on the life course of individuals who grow up and overcome adversity than do specific risk factors” (1996). According to Hawkins and Catalano (1992), “Protective factors hold the key to understanding how to reduce those risks and how to encourage positive behavior and social development.” Hawkins and Catalano provide the following list of protective factors:

Individual Characteristics
Some children are born with characteristics that help protect them against problems as they grow older and are exposed to risk. These include:

  • Gender. Given equal exposure to risk, girls are less likely than boys to develop health and behavior problems in adolescence.

  • Resilient temperament. Children who adjust to change or recover from disruption easily are more protected from risk.

  • Outgoing personality. Children who are outgoing, enjoy being with people, and engage easily with others are more protected.

  • Intelligence. Bright children appear to be more protected from risk than are less intelligent children.


Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards
Parents, teachers, and community members who hold clearly stated expectations regarding the behavior of young children and adolescents help protect them from risk. When family rules and expectations are consistent with, and supported by, other key influences on children and adolescents—school, peers, media, and larger community—the young person is buffered from risk even more.


Bonding
One of the most effective ways to reduce children's risk of developing problem behaviors is to strengthen their bonds with family members, teachers, and other socially responsible adults. Children living in high-risk environments can be protected from behavior problems by a strong, affectionate relationship with an adult who cares about, and is committed to, the children's healthy development.

  • The most critical aspect of this relationship is that the young person has a long-term investment in the relationship and that he/she believes that the relationship is worth protecting. Hawkins and Catalano (1992) have identified three protective processes that build strong bonds between young people and the significant adults in their lives:

  • Opportunities for involvement. Strong bonds are built when young people have opportunities to be involved in their families, schools, and communities—to make a real contribution and feel valued for it.

  • Skills for successful involvement. In order for young people to take advantage of the opportunities provided in their families, schools, and communities, they must have the skills to be successful in that involvement. These skills may be social skills, academic skills, or behavioral skills.

  • Recognition for involvement. If we want young people to continue to contribute in meaningful ways, they must be recognized and valued for their involvement.