Preventing Interpersonal Violence among Youth: An Introduction to School, Community, and Mass Media Strategies.

The United States is a violent nation. This report reviews current school, community, and mass media strategies; describes promising programs now in operation; and offers recommendations for how police and other criminal justice professionals can get involved. By introducing the basic concepts and strategies of violence prevention, the report encourages even more criminal justice professionals to join this effort. Four important methods public health specialists recommend for preventing youth violence are: (1) improve young people's perspective-taking skills--people are more likely to aggress if they see a provocation as deliberate; (2) have young people focus on the negative consequences of violence--in general, aggressive responses are inhibited when people are afraid to aggress or anticipate feelings of guilt; (3) teach young people how to negotiate nonviolent solutions to conflict--solutions that meet both disputants' needs, including the need to save face; and (4) instruct youngsters to look for signs that a conflict might spin out of control. Fights usually go through a predictable sequence of steps before escalating into violence. It is hoped that such efforts will help young people manage conflicts and allow them to channel their anger into constructive problem solving, rather than turn to violence as their first response. (RJM)