Abstract
The present paper is a review of the various causes of violence among teenagers and possible ways to eliminate it from the society. Various books and journals have been studied to collect data from last few years regarding the reported deaths, drug abuse cases, violence cases, etc. among teenagers. Further, towards the end some worthwhile recommendations to curb the issue have also been proposed.
Introduction
Life is a cycle of birth and death, marked by several stages of development from infancy, childhood, teenage, adulthood and old age. These stages are marked by their own peculiar characters of physical, social, emotional, intellectual and behavioral development. Childhood is marked by rapid physical and mental growth and teenage stands out by the development of the secondary sexual characters and emotional imbalance. Teenage is also marked by hormonal changes which in turn is responsible for frequent mood swings and out bursts.
Teenage interchangeably referred to as adolescence, describes the teenage years falling between thirteen and nineteen years of age. This stage is often referred to as the transitional stage between childhood and adulthood (Dube SR, Felitti VJ, Dong M, Chapman DP, Giles WH, Anda RF, 2003). Teenage is a period during which, a growing person makes a transition from childhood to maturity. Adolescence is the period of great stress and strain, storm and strike. Teenage is often referred as a more vulnerable phase of life because teenagers are more prone to anger attacks and ego clashes. These clashes at times become risky and harmful.
There is a tide which begins to rise in the vein of the youth at the age of eleven or twelve. It is called the adolescence (teenage) phase. If that tide is acts like a flood and beginning of a new voyage, its strength and flow can be utilized to optimize the outcome and turn it to a fortune.
There are several theories explaining the development of teenage. Stanley Hall in his book Adolescence, 1904, gave the ‘Theory of Saltatory Development’ stated that the physical, mental and emotional development in teenage are sudden and are not related to any previous or other stages of development. The proponents of, ‘Theory of Gradual Development’, King, Thorndike and Hollingworth believed that the physical, mental and emotional development during the teenage are continuous, gradual and constantly evolving. The way a new phase takes over after the previous one and paves way for the forthcoming season is clearly visible and evident. In a similar way, childhood and teenage remain linked to each other.
There is no conflict in saying that of all stages of development, teenage is the most difficult stage in life. For some, it can be a period of confusion and discovery while for others it may be a period of insecurity and change. This transitioning phase brings with it many issues and problems that may be related with independence, self- identity, self- esteem, self- realization and ego. These issues and problems stand aggravated by the tough choices that teenagers have to make in selecting their peers and being with them and also in saving themselves from the exploitations that are often complementary to the teenage like bullying, sexuality, drugs, alcohol, social life, school homework, romantic linkages and external appearance (Brenick, A., Henning, A., Killen, M., O’Connor, A. & Collins, M., 2007).
The purpose of this paper is to study the causes of violence among teenagers and suggest potential ways to prevent the same. The paper will study the causes of violence from the perspective of family, peers, society and individual level.
Objectives
Objectives provides structure to any study and they serve as the guiding pillars for directing research towards achieving a particular aim. The objectives of this study can be listed as below:
Literature Review
The literature review highlights several causes of violence prevalent among teenagers to name a few are drug abuse, bullying, sexuality, ego etc. A recent data from Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that during 2004 only girls accounted for all the juvenile arrests.
Drug abuse is often seen as one of the most common cause of violence, illness and deaths among teenagers.
A report by United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC, 2010) stated that alcohol abuse is the cause of 2.5 million teenage deaths per year. It is further reported that drugs like heroin and cocaine also cause about 0.1 to 0.2 million deaths per year. Apart from these, substance abuse also causes serious illnesses among youth. An alarming report by UNODC reveals that the approximate costs for treating drug abuses globally amounts to about two hundred to two hundred fifty billion dollars. This is approximately 0.3% to 0.4% of the international Gross Domestic Product. Further, it is also reported that this amount was used to treat only about 20% of the drug users (Bovin G, Griffin KW., 2003)
Teen dating violence is another fast emerging cause of violence. In United States 10-12 percent teens reported physical abuse and 33 % reported some kind of abuse. Despite the high rate of occurrence, this particular area still remains scantily reported. Anderson reports scratching, slapping, pushing, slamming, or holding someone against the wall, biting, choking, burning, beating someone up, and assault with a weapon as examples of teen dating violence (Anderson, C. A., 2010).
Sexual Abuse has become another important cause of violence in known as well as unknown relationships. Sexual abuse between adolescent partners can be described as any event of rape, attempted to rape, and any other form of sexual abuse that may lead to a type of physical injury in the teenager.
Technologically facilitated psychological abuse is fast gaining grounds and aggressions through cell phones & computers using social media and mail accounts for monitoring by partners and resulting in harassment. It also surfaces in the form of spreading rumors to damage friendships and harm reputation. Blackmailing and “sexting” also account for a significant numbers of violent outbreaks in schools and at workplaces. It was observed that teens who were involved in relationships with the partners who were having access to technology and gadgets faced high level monitoring as compared to the non-technology users and had to face continuous observation and were exposed to put downs and harassment. It is also found that the severity of the dating abuse has been increasing at an alarming rate ever since the introduction of technology. The occurrence and ruthlessness of both execution and harassment increases from early to mid-teen years (Klein JD, Slap GB, Elster AB, Cohn SE.,1993)
Unprotected social and home environment is another important cause of violence among teens. It is also revealed that the teens indulging in risk taking behaviors like substance abuse or abuse originating from threatening environments like underprivileged homes and neighborhoods are more prone to indulging in the violent behaviors (Belcher HM, Shinitzky HE, 1998). Socio-economic factors thus are important precursors of violence among teens. Low socio economic status perpetuated due to illiteracy of parents indicates a high risk of violence among teenagers.
Juvenile homes and child protection homes form another home to teen violence. In a study of girls who were getting child protection services, it was found that half of them fell prey to some sort of physical or sexual abuse and violence (Woodall, K. L, and K. Mathews., 1993).
Situational factors like presence at a sensitive place at a wrong time, curiosity to try something different along with the peers or in order to impress the peers, showing momentary anger or outburst are another contributing factors towards impending violence among teenagers (Eggert LL, Thompson EA, Herting JR, Nicholas LJ., 1995)
Socio-demographic factors can also prove to be an important cause of violence. They represent the areas that have shown instances of violence earlier and are vulnerable due to previously reported instances of violence and disadvantaged localities. Further, the regional divide or a divide originating from differences in race and ethnicity just like US North/South divide may lead to violence.
Thus, from the above reviews it could be inferred that the risk factors involving teen violence correlates with a wide range of factors. They range from social factors like remote community and demography to familial factors like disruptive environment and poverty. Violence among teens can also correlate with peer pressures as well as individual factors like low self-esteem and emotional trauma (Holfors D, Van Dorn RA., 2003). Major research on teen violence concentrates on family, peer, situational and individual factors.
Methodology
Methodology forms the backbone of any study and a careful selection of methodology can prove to be beneficial for getting good results.
The study ahead is a qualitative one based on the analysis and the review of the researches and articles available on the internet. About six papers and reviews have been studied along with several articles for collecting the relevant data for analysis. Data collection also involved content analysis of the selected papers related with the teenagers’ violence. Measures have been taken to access vital information through primary sources and wherever possible, appropriate references have been provided.
The collected data has been analyzed by developing codes and the coded data has been further studied so as to arrive at the themes which were then concluded as the major causes of the teenage violence. Finally, the results concluded and appropriate measures to prevent teen violence have been suggested.
Results
After careful analysis of the available reviews, following themes emerged and were concluded as the major causes of violence among teenagers. These have been listed below:
Drug abuse and substance abuse
Teen Dating and affairs
Sexual abuse both known and unknown
Technology and use of social media
Unprotected social and home environment
Unsecure environment in Juvenile homes and child protection homes
Illiteracy among parents
Poverty in family and neighborhood
Situational factors
Socio economic factors
Sociodemographic Factors
Although, several other factors can be added to the list with further reviews and analysis but results reveal that the major causes of teenage violence are more likely spread around them.
Conclusion and Discussion
What’s even more alarming is a fast emerging number of teens who are involving themselves in the acts of violence for the sake of pleasure for earning money and gaining power. Further, there is a group which is misusing technology and working within the confines of their homes for inducing crimes (Leonard, D., 2009). There is dire need to track these silent and sleeping violence triggers in order to protect the innocent teens from falling prey to their hands.
There is an immediate need to educate the youth about the ethnicity and race so that they develop a better understanding of the issue and are able to adjust and adopt rather than fight and slaughter. With the development have come the nuances of development. As a result, the teenager of today is insecure and vulnerable (Bhatnagar & Bhatnagar, 2006). With this trend pacing fast, it will become difficult for nations to build their future on such a youth foundation. So it’s time for us to wake up to the cause and educate the teens not only about the conflicts but also the reasons for the same. We should also educate them about technology and how to play safe.
Recommendations
In order for the preventive measures to be effective, there is a need to reduce the risk factors responsible for violence and at the same time enhance and promote the protective factors that may prevent the event from occurring. National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has listed many causes that may lead to the teens towards violence. To name a few they may include exposure to drugs, socio economic status of family, parenting style, influence of peer group, and natural tendency towards drug addiction (NIDA, 2010). Some recommendations to deal with the issue are listed below:
Family Prevention Programs: There is a need to address the risk factors that can be modified and enhance the activities of preventive programs through family, school and community intervention. Educate the family not only about the importance of education but also about the importance of emotionally secure and financially safe homes. There is a need to educate the parents about the same (Thompson E, Horn M, Herting J, Eggert L., 1997)
Awareness and Prevention Program for Teens who are dating: These can include programs that may help in promoting awareness among teenagers as well as the community to reduce existing levels of violence. This program can also include awareness about the dangers of social media and that of blind dating. Teenagers should be made aware about the risks involved in dating and the ways they can save themselves. They can also be taught self-defense.
Cyber Cell with tracking and awareness program: An active cyber cell with tracking and monitoring services will help in keeping a track on all illicit events within this niche. Also, there is a need to create awareness about the nuances of technology. The teens should be educated about how much to reveal on the social media and also how to save their profiles from hackers and dangerous people.
Child protection services: Specifically, in the case of girls, child protection services can prove to be useful in preventing them from falling prey to the dangerous net in the so called safety of children homes. Care should be taken by imposing stringent laws, installing cameras, rotating the duties and most importantly, educating the girls about their rights. They should also be educated about the various means of reporting about the occurrences of violence and abuses to the concerned authorities.
Social Security: Social security laws can be improvised so as to reach the socially disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. Social security will ensure safety in the form of finances, education and livelihood. This will take away a huge burden from the shoulders of the teens.
Demographic Boundaries: Care should be taken in areas where the cases of race and ethnicity are common. Further, there is a need to build a curriculum that may incorporate multiculturalism as the way of life. This will enable the development of a more tolerant youth and they will be able to adjust and adopt themselves in the culturally diverse neighborhood.
Education and Curriculum: There is a need to introduce both formal and informal systems of education wherein not just teenagers or youth but also the general public can be educated on ways to prevent violence. Additionally, awareness drives and campaigns in the neighborhood areas will also help in educating the public. This will in turn help in reducing the cases of violence. The curriculum can be improvised so as to infuse elements of cultural integrity and oneness. This will help in imbibing correct values in children right from their childhood.
Teenage violence is spreading like an epidemic and there is an urgency to take action for not just preventing the violence from occurring but also cutting it from the roots. There can be basically two types of measures – preventive and mitigating. Preventive measures can be adopted by educating the teens, parents and the neighborhood. Mitigating steps can be taken by acting smartly and proactively so as to prevent the trigger effect of an isolated incident or break the chain effect (American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, & American Medical Association, 2000).
Finally, there is a need for more research in this area wherein more empirical data can be collected and analyzed. The further availability of data will help in understanding the root causes and creating action plans for eliminating them. It will also help in developing a more targeted and specific approach towards the issue.
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