Although the media spotlight certainly exaggerates the reality, there is no doubt that violence by and against youth is an enormous social problem. Nearly one in six of all violent crime arrests in 1997 involved a juvenile under 18 years of age (FBI, 1997). Arrest rates for violent crimes among juveniles increased 49% between 1988 and 1997 compared with an increase of 19% among persons 18 years of age and over. However, recent data suggest that juvenile arrests for murder and other violent crimes may have peaked in 1994 (Sickmund, Snyder, & Poe-Yamagata, 1997). Moderate decreases in 1995, 1996, and 1997 are evidence of the continuing downward trend in juvenile arrests for violent crimes (FBI, 1996, 1997). Although violence is pervasive in American society, not all groups are equally affected. African American youth are significantly overrepresented among victims and perpetrators of violent crimes (Reiss & Roth, 1993). Arrest data indicate that African American youth account for 52% of youth arrested for violent crimes, even though they make up only 15% of the juvenile population (Dryfoos, 1990). However, data on self-reported violent offenses demonstrate a much narrower difference between the prevalence of violence between Blacks and Whites (Elliot, 1994).
We begin this chapter with a discussion of the difficulties surrounding definitions of violence. Then we review the correlates of youth violence by examining the societal, neighborhood, school, peer, family, and individual factors that predict violent behavior.