The popularity of a "bum-fighting" series of DVDs serves as evidence of this culture. The show depicts actually homeless men fighting one another and getting beaten up. A number of the teens involved in violent attacks on the homeless have indicated that they enjoy the series. Even sports seem to play a role in the violent propensities. In the case of the Fort Lauderdale attack, one of the perpetrators was the captain of the high school hockey team, a game in which on-ice fighting is largely tolerated and whose spectator brawls have drawn recent media attention. A possible third suspect in the beating described the attack to officers in sport terms, saying that it felt to him like "teeing off" (Fantz). Finally, the primary causal factor in attacks such as took place in Fort Lauderdale last year is boredom. Surprisingly, many experts in youth behavior, violence, and occupational sciences describe boredom as being nearly ubiquitous in violent attacks such as those committed by adolescents against the homeless. In a study conducted occupational researcher Timothy Hartnagel of high school dropouts, 21% admitted that they'd gotten into a fight at least once just for fun (Hartnagel & Krahn 428). Violent offenders often describe these behaviors as a form of amusement, as in the case of another attack on the homeless in Florida last year. When asked by police why he had attacked the homeless man, the teenage perpetrator answered, "I guess for fun" (CBS staff writer). Scott Russell, a Fort Lauderdale police officer, observed firsthand this release of boredom, saying "If you looked at these kids, it is almost like it was fun and games for them. It looked like they were laughing and finding great joy in what they were doing" (Weiner). This observation, taken at face value, might describe a group of kids on summer break,...
Youth violence is a major problem in the world today that must be continually researched and examined in order to reduce its harmful grasp. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), violent acts were the second leading cause of death for young people in the United States in 2010 (Understanding Youth). Youth violence not only includes children that are victims of violent acts, but also those that commit acts
In addition to psychological factors, social factors also play a part in the development of violence in youth in the United States. According to the University of Pittsburgh's Office of Child Development, these social factors may play as important of a role as the psychological factors. First, educational institutions can have a large impact on violence in children. According to their research, over 80% of children failing school have serious
Associations Between Youth Violence and Exposure to Gun Violence The issue of violence in school has drawn increasing attention in recent years. Thus, the study by Forster (et al., 2015) entitled “Associations Between Gun Violence Exposure, Gang Associations, and Youth Aggression: Implications for Prevention and Intervention Programs,” appears to be a timely one, regarding the association of exposure to gun violence to aggressive actions. According to the authors, there is abundant
Media violence and youth violence: a 2-year longitudinal study" which was written by Hopf et al. This study examined the relationship between violence in the media and violent delinquency in juveniles. As the title of this article suggests, the research is based on a two-year longitudinal study. The hypotheses for this study were multifold, and were based in large measure on existent hypothesis. The hypothesis of Hopf et al.
The majority of gangs are governed by norms that support the use of violence to settle disputes and to achieve group goals "associated with member recruitment, defense of one's identity as a gang member, turf protection and expansion, and defense of the gang's honor" (Youth1 pp). Sanctioned violence is also dictated by a code of honor that stresses one's manhood and defines breaches of etiquette, and also demonstrates toughness
Violence Against Children The structure of violence as related to children directly correlates to their perceived socio-demographic risk. Several factors directly relate to the likelihood that a child will be subjected to violence at some point during their lives. Social, economic, demographic and physical factors all have a dramatic impact a child's development, either positive or negative and these factors also influence whether or not a child is more or less
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