SAFER YOUTH COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Violent behavior is very complex and is determined by multiple risk factors, often acting together. The rarer the violent behavior (e.g., from assault, to murder, to mass shooting), the more complex the causality may be. We separate known risk factors for youth violence into two categories: (1) Personal risk factors associated with the individual, and (2) Environmental factors associated with the situation or broader social context.
PERSONAL RISK FACTORS FOR YOUTH VIOLENCE
1. Gender.
One risk marker for youth violence is gender (Fox & DeLateur, 2014; Kalish & Kimmel, 2010; Kimmel & Mahler, 2003; Stone, 2015). Across the lifespan, males are more physically aggressive and violent than females (Björkqvist, 2018). The most dramatic gender differences are in physically violent behavior in young adulthood, where young men commit most of the violent crimes, murders, and the vast majority of mass shootings (U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2017). Many factors associated with gender likely contribute to this difference, but biological differences and perceptions of control or power associated with masculinity norms may contribute (Kimmel & Mahler, 2003).
2. Aggressive behavior early in childhood.
One of the most consistent findings of longitudinal research conducted over the past 50 years has been that early aggressive behavior predicts later aggressive, antisocial, violent, and criminal behavior (Dubow, Huesmann, Boxer, & Smith, 2014; Dubow, Huesmann, Boxer, & Smith, 2016; Dubow, Huesmann, Boxer, Smith, & Sedlar, in press; Huesmann, Eron, & Dubow, 2002; Huesmann, Eron, Lefkowitz, & Walder, 1984). In other words, children displaying more physically aggressive behavior are more likely to grow up to be adults displaying more violent behavior.
3. Personality and emotion regulation.
Some people are more prone to aggression and violence than others. Research has shown that youth who are characteristically angry also tend to be more aggressive and violent (DeLisi et al., 2010). When anger is poorly regulated (i.e., when it occurs too frequently, activated too quickly, is too intense, and is long in duration) it raises the likelihood of violent behavior. In addition, four “dark” personality styles or traits are related to aggression and violence: (1) narcissism; (2) psychopathy; (3) Machiavellianism; and (4) sadism (Paulhus, Curtis, & Jones, 2018). Narcissists have grandiose self-views, a selfish orientation, and a lack of empathy for others. Narcissists think they are special people who deserve special treatment. When they do not get the respect they think they are entitled to, they can lash out at others in an aggressive and violent manner. A recent analysis found that narcissism might be a risk factor for mass shootings (Bushman, 2018). Psychopaths are callous and unemotional individuals who mainly focus on satisfying their desires in the moment, regardless of whether they hurt others in the process. Machiavellianism involves a mindset that ruthlessly focuses on gaining personal success and power by any means necessary, including using aggression and violence. Most people experience distress after hurting an innocent person, but for sadists it produces pleasure, excitement, and perhaps even sexual arousal. Although the four dark traits are theoretically distinct, they share common features (e.g., lack of empathy, callous manipulation of others).
4. Obsession with weapons or death.
Another risk factor for violence is a preoccupation with weapons or death (Leary, Kowalski, Smith, & Phillips, 2003). This includes having an intense interest or fixation with guns, bombs, or explosives.
ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS FOR YOUTH VIOLENCE
1. Easy access to guns/Knives.
Numerous studies have shown that easy access to guns is a strong risk factor for violence (Chapman, Alpers, Agho, & Jones, 2006; Rozel & Mulvey, 2017; Siegel, Ross, & King, 2013) But this trend frequents only in America.
Research has also shown that stricter gun laws reduce gun-related deaths around the world (Santaella-Tenorio, Cerdá, Villaveces, & Galea, 2016). Firearms with magazines that hold a large number of bullets allow the perpetrator to kill a greater number of victims in a shorter amount of time. Guns also provide psychological distance between the perpetrator and victim, which can make killing easier. The mere presence of guns can also increase the likelihood of aggressive responding in social situations (Berkowitz & LePage, 1967).
2. Social exclusion and isolation.
Being regularly victimized or ostracized by peers is also a risk factor for youth violence (Raitanen, Sandberg, & Oksanen, 2017; Valdebenito, Ttofi, Eisner, & Gaffney, 2017). This may lead individuals to feel socially isolated, with little access to a support system that could otherwise be protective against violent behavior. Additionally, victims of bullying may develop feelings of strong resentment for a particular group of individuals or for a community at large, which is also a risk factor for mass shootings (Fox & Levin, 2003; Madfis, 2017; Madfis & Levin, 2013).
3. Family and neighborhood characteristics.
There are a number of family characteristics that may be associated with youth violence. For example, research has found that coming from a family that experienced divorce, child maltreatment, domestic violence, being on welfare, having a mother who is young or unemployed or having a father with behavioral problems all increase the likelihood of young men committing violent acts (DeLisi, Piquero, & Cardwell, 2016; Farrington, Loeber, & Berg, 2012; Fox, Pereza, Cass, Bagliviob, & Epps, 2015). Further, growing up in a neighborhood marred by persistent violent crime and other indicators of social and physical disorder, and experiencing neighborhood violence directly as a witness or victim, can contribute to youths’ risk for violent behavior (Tolan, Gorman-Smith, & Henry, 2003).
4. Media violence.
Exposure to violent media is a cause of aggressive behavior and is correlated with violent criminal behavior (Bushman & Anderson, 2015), including mass shootings (O’Toole, 2000). It is important to note that the link between violent media and aggression is found in every country where studies have been conducted (Anderson et al., 2010, 2017). A number of long-term studies have also found that high exposure to violent media in childhood is related to violence later in life, including criminal behavior, spousal abuse, and assault (Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, & Eron, 2003). It is illogical to assume that advertising, an industry worth half a trillion dollars in 2016 (eMarketer, 2016), can influence consumer behavior, but that violent content in media does not influence aggressive behavior (Warburton, 2014). In addition, just as observing violence in the home, school, and community increases the odds of aggression, so too can observing violence in the media.
5. School characteristics.
A number of studies have examined the characteristics of the school when a mass shooting takes place on school grounds (Baird, Roellke, & Zeifman, 2017; de Apodaca, Brighton, Perkins, Jackson, & Steege, 2012). Mass shootings are more likely to occur in schools with a large class size and a high student-to-teacher and student-to-counselor ratio. These characteristics can lead students to feel socially isolated and feel that they have few opportunities to seek help. Developing a strong sense of school community or “spirit” for each individual may reduce the likelihood of school shootings.
6. Substance use.
Alcohol intoxication is frequently associated with aggressive and violent behavior (Parrott & Eckhardt, 2018). However, substance use is not a common factor of mass shootings, but could result in other vices like poor grades in school, homelessness, or laziness in doing house/home chores when leaving with parents.
7. Stressful events.
There is a strong relation between stressful events (e.g., frustration, provocation, hot temperatures) and aggression (Groves & Anderson, 2018). Stressful events often make people angry, and can trigger aggressive and violent behavior. Good little naps and full rest of sleep is needed to support a healthy youthful mind.
REDUCING THE RISK OF YOUTH VIOLENCE
As noted, risk for violence is complex. Many risk factors such as gender, parental criminality, traumatic family experiences, and exposure to media violence are shared by individuals who will never become violent. However, when these risk factors are examined in the context of assessment strategies focused on the specific risk for targeted violence (e.g., when an individual makes statements or plans regarding a desire to commit a violent act), it may be possible to initiate effective treatment and prevent escalation to violence. Although some risk factors are static (i.e., not subject to change and thus not amenable to treatment), others are dynamic and thus malleable in the context of appropriate intervention. For example, it is not possible to alter a youth’s history of maltreatment or exposure to domestic violence, but it is possible to improve a youth’s capacity to manage intense anger, reduce his or her use of violent media, and limit his or her access to guns (Borum & Verhaagen, 2006). Evidence is growing that self-regulation skills are also malleable, beginning in early childhood (Diamond & Lee, 2011). Self-control training can increase self-control and decrease delinquency (Piquero, Jennings, & Farrington, 2010). The likelihood of violence also may be reduced by interventions focused on developing skills such as empathy, perspective taking, social problem-solving, and conflict resolution (Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 2011). For high risk youth, we must also invest in building protective factors (e.g., prosocial involvements, social support, attachment to positive role models, strong commitment to educational attainment).
News reporters can also play a role in reducing gun violence and other forms of mass murder. Prolonged media attention that uses fear tactics to increase viewership and provides publicity to perpetrators is counterproductive. It also provides a potential perpetrator with a script for committing these horrible acts of violence, such what to wear, the locations to kill the most people, and what weapons to use (Towers et al., 2015). Indeed, mass shooting perpetrators have fed off one another, some aspiring to exceed the body counts of predecessors. The shooter’s name should not be mentioned. This may de-incentivize any future shooters who are using “fame” as a motive for violence.
A Godly upbringing could be a good structure to backing up a youth mindset against violence, and this is called the Higher Power.