Preventing Teen Violence A Guide for Parents and Professionals

Subjects:

• Psychology » Psychology (General)
• Psychology » Developmental Psychology
• Family Resources » Teen/Adolescent Issues

Reviews:

• High-profile killings at Columbine and elsewhere have focused attention on youth violence and raised questions about how parents, teachers, and professionals in diverse cultures can understand, evaluate, and prevent senseless violence. Including illuminating cross-cultural comparisons from Brazil and Russia, McCarthy and Hutz gather essays that examine precursors of violence (e.g., attitudes and social context) and remedies (e.g., anger management, critical thinking, impulse control). The book demonstrates that aggression can be directed inward (self-harm, substance abuse) or outward. Positive parenting and developing the teen's resilience are important; reducing prejudice, channeling anger, and limiting viewing of violent media can help. Educators can foster safe schools by improving the school environment and helping teens develop a sense of responsibility, self-control, and achievement. Mentoring, building life skills, and introducing the arts into curricula are discussed as avenues to preventing aggression. Resources for school safety and violence prevention are listed. Suicide warnings are discussed briefly. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.
  —Choice December 2006
• [T]his book is to be welcomed, especially since it is addressed not only at professionals but at parents.
  —Internet Law Books Review 2006
• These papers, written by McCarthy, Hutz and other experts in adolescent psychology, examine adolescent aggression from biological, psychological and social perspectives and analyze some of the contributing factors. The contributors describe symptoms and strategies in a way that can be understood and adapted by parents, schools, social service agencies, and criminal justice institutions. Specific topics include substance abuse, suicide and self-harm, sexual aggression, anger management and impulse control, gang violence, and increasing critical thinking skills.
  —Reference & Research Book News May 2006

Table of Contents:

• Preface
• Defining Adolescence and Examining Adolescent Aggression
• School Violence: An Overview m
• Strategies for Educators to Prevent Youth Violence
• Aggression Directed Inward: Substance-Abuse, Suicide, and Self-Harm
• Sexual Aggression among Adolescents
• Anger Management Training Strategies to Reduce Adolescent Violence
• Proactive Parenting in a Changing World
• Teens, Violence, and the "3 R's": Resilience, Rehabilitation, and Recovery
• Integrating Programs and Practices to Reduce Aggression
• Cultural Aspects of Moral Development and Impulse Control
• Reducing Adolescent Aggression by Developing Critical Thinking Skills
• Street Kids, Anti Social Behavior, and Adolescent Aggression
• Philosophies that Foster Violence: Religious, Cultural, and Political Risk Factors