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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE
The goal of this article in the CQ Researcher was to describe some of the factors involved in juvenile homicide and violence.
METHODOLOGY:
A non-experimental review of the literature was conducted for this study.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The author stated that easy availability of guns and a sense of glamour involved in carrying guns may be contributing to increasing gunshot deaths among teens. In a recent survey of the Seattle public high schools, it was reported that nearly 1/2 of male students and 1/3 of all students said that they could easily obtain a handgun. Gun sources included friends, the street, gun shops, or from home. Additionally, the spread of gangs and drug traffic (selling more than using) was also argued as associated with increasing violence. However, estimates in Cleveland suggested that only 7-10% of violent incidents are gang related and gangs and drugs are more of a symptom than a cause of juvenile violence. A history of often brutal child abuse was judged to be a factor for teenagers who kill. Ewing, a current researcher, predicted that the annual number of juvenile homicides will rise from 2,555 in 1990 to 8,000 by the year 2000, driven largely by increases in child abuse. Being dehumanized through child abuse was thought to lead to the ability to dehumanize victims and "overkill." The phenomenon was seen to cut across class and racial lines and to be spreading, in part because of economic pressures, changes in family structures, and drug use which have spread out of the inner city. The media were also cited because of its ability to present alternatives and thoughts that might not have occurred to youth.
EVALUATION:
The information in this article was derived from some of the available knowledge about juvenile homicide. The review was not complete nor is our knowledge about juvenile homicide conclusive. Therefore, this study should be taken with appropriate caution.
Juvenile Offender
Juvenile Homicide
Homicide Offender
Juvenile Violence
Violence Causes
Homicide Causes
Literature Review
Juvenile Firearms Use
Firearms Accessability
Firearms Availability
Firearms Violence
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