Although homicide rates have dropped in recent years, they remain unacceptably high. Homicide rates for young people are higher in the United States than in any other developed nation. Homicide is the second leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 19 overall. It is the number one cause of death among African Americans ages 15 to 24.

From 1992 to 1998, for every homicide victim over age 12, approximately 121 people were injured, 16 of them severely.

More than one-third of high school students who participated in a CDC study reported being in a physical fight in the past 12 months, and 4% had been injured seriously enough in a physical fight to require medical treatment by a doctor or nurse.

Almost one-fifth of high school students taking part in that study had carried a weapon during the 30 days preceding the survey.

Most young homicide victims are killed with guns. In 1998, 82% of homicide victims 15 to 19 years old were killed with firearms.

The firearm homicide rate for this age group increased 44% between 1987 and 1998.

Key Risk Factors for Youth Violence

One of the first steps toward preventing violence, according to the public health approach, is to identify and understand the factors that place young people at risk for violent victimization and perpetration. Previous research shows that there are a number of individual and social factors that increase the probability of violence during adolescence and young adulthood. Some of these factors include: Individual

History of early aggression

Beliefs supportive of violence

Social cognitive deficits

Family

Poor monitoring or supervision of children

Exposure to violence

Parental drug/alcohol abuse

Poor emotional attachment to parents or caregivers

Peer/School

Association with peers engaged in high-risk or problem behavior

Low commitment to school

Academic failure

Neighborhood

Poverty and diminished economic opportunity

High levels of transiency and family disruption

Exposure to violence

Future Steps

We still have a lot to learn about what causes some youth to become violent and how to prevent such violence from occurring. To better address the problem of youth violence, CDC must: Increase tracking and monitoring of youth violence;

Research factors that increase or decrease youths' risk of violence;

Evaluate whether existing youth violence prevention strategies work;

Develop and test new strategies to prevent youth violence.

We must also improve the capacity of local and state authorities, community-based organizations, and private sector partners to support services and policies that effectively prevent youth violence.

What Is Youth Violence?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Injury Center defines violence as threatened or actual physical force or power initiated by an individual that results in, or has a high likelihood of resulting in, physical or psychological injury or death. Youth violence is not limited to violence between young people; it may involve a youth victim and an adult perpetrator, or vice versa.