Responding to Gang, Crew and Youth Violence in the District of Columbia

CHAPTER 4: THE CAUSES AND COMBATANTS OF YOUTH VIOLENCENo Single Theory Explains YouthViolenceAlthough no single theory has been able to explain the multifacetedcomponents of the social, psychological, and biophysicalfacets that appear to be intertwined within violentbehaviors, some theories are better suited than others tounderstand and prevent youth violence. From these researchtraditions, various philosophies developed to informthe practice of reducing youth violence. Suchapproaches include the public health, ecological, publicsafety, community peace, resiliency and positive youth developmenttheories. These approaches are not mutuallyexclusive.Public Health ApproachThe study of violence prevention and intervention, combinedwith the practical medical demands of addressingthe results of violence has led to the creation of a “publichealth” approach to youth and other kinds of violence.The public health approach is a holistic, comprehensiveand preventive approach that is implemented on a larger,population-wide scale than is the law enforcement approach,for example. According to the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC), the public healthapproach to violence prevention is a four-step process,which involves defining the problem, identifying risk andprotective factors, developing and testing preventionstrategies, and assuring widespread adoption:1. The first step in preventing violence is to grasp themagnitude of the problem: analyzing data such as thenumber of violence-related behaviors, injuries, anddeaths. Data can demonstrate how frequently violenceoccurs, where it is occurs, trends, and who the victimsand perpetrators are. Data are gathered from widerangingsources including, police reports, medical examinerfiles, vital records, hospital charts, registriesand population-based surveys.2. Determining the key cause(s)/risk factors associatedwith the problem; in this case, identifying risk and protectivefactors help identify where prevention effortsneed to be focused.3. Developing an action plan to tackle the problembased on the identified cause(s)/risk factors; researchdata and findings from needs assessments, communitysurveys, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups areuseful for designing prevention programs. Using thesedata and findings is known as an evidence-based approachto program planning. Once programs are implemented,they are evaluated rigorously to determinetheir effectiveness.4. Implementing policies and procedures within thedefined population. Once prevention programs havebeen proven effective, they must be disseminated.Communities are encouraged to adapt programs tomeet their own needs and to evaluate the program’ssuccess. Dissemination techniques to promote widespreadadoption include training, networking, technicalassistance, and process evaluation. 53The public health approach to any problem is interdisciplinaryand science-based, meaning that it draws frommany disciplines including medicine, psychology, sociology,criminology, epidemiology, education and economics.54 This combination of knowledge and practice fromsuch diverse disciplines defines the innovation and successof the public health field. The public health approachalso emphasizes collective action in preventing any healthproblem. “Each sector has an important role to play in addressingthe problem of violence and collectively the approachestaken by each have the potential to produceimportant reductions in violence.” 55The public health approach believes that youth violence isa preventable epidemic. It focuses on understanding howrisk factors are related to violence and how protective factorscan aid in developing effective prevention, interventionand suppression initiatives. The public health modelcan significantly reduce the number of injuries and deathscaused by violence by identifying the problem and developingsolutions for the defined population. Additionally,the public health approach aims to disseminate successfulmodels as part of a coordinated effort to educate and reachout to the public.Ecological PerspectiveDue to the fact that there are numerous recurring determinantsof violence it is important to adopt an ecological perspectivein order to tackle the youth violence epidemiceffectively. The Ecological Model explores the relationshipbetween individual and contextual factors and considersviolence as the product of multiple levels ofinfluence on behavior. 56 The ecological perspective high-53 (http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/PublicHealthApproachTo_ViolencePrevention.htm).54 JA Mercy, ML Rosenberg, KE Powell, CV Broome and WL Roper, “Public Health Policy for Preventing Violence,” Health Affairs, 12.4 (1993).55 World Report on Violence and Health (Geneva: World Health Organization, 2002).30