Juvenile Violence

Academicians have theorized that there is a

subculture of violence [which] proposes that variations in the use of violent behavior stem from the adherence to subcultural normative systems that support and encourage violence. . . . [T]he violent subculture promotes a relatively greater number of conditions under which violence is expected or required of its members. Subcultural norms serve as guides for the perception and interpretation of certain situations (the jostle, the derogatory remark, the appearance of a weapon) where violence is viewed as an appropriate

And others have suggested that gang violence "revolves around

insult and honor . . . that honor is a normative code that stresses the inviolability of one's manhood and defines breaches of etiquette . . . in an adversarial idiom."

Less formal observation may paint a picture closer to

It's easy to see how Arnie Hall, 17, became a criminal. His mother was a dope addict, his stepfather an alcoholic. He grew up in a South Dallas slum, and before he dropped out of fifth grad

. . .
e substitution of a peer-group system which "supports co-offending" and creates networks which "simplify the search for accomplices." Absence of role and recognition sees a connection between powerlessness and the incidence of crime. Low self-esteem and educational deficiencies have been cited as reasons why black teens "resort to macho displays of violence to preserve a 'twisted sense of dignity. . . . These kids will kill to save face." Disconnection enlarges upon self-esteem. Teens are, quite naturally, in a state of transition. The physical, intellectual, emotional, and economic changes which are at work can easily injure an already fragile self-esteem. According to Arnold Goldstein, director of Syracuse University's Center for Research on Aggression, the message of contemporary American society is putting the emphasis not on caring for others but on acquiring money and instant gratification: "We are a nation whose role models, Presidents and leaders on Wall Street have set a tone in the country--'I'm going to get mine." The message to young people is that the often illegal means by which people of importance seem to have gained what they have is sufficient validation for them to attempt to get whatever they can by
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Healthy Start, , Albert Reiss, Paolo Brazil, Prevention Council, Parents United, Psychological Association, Transformers Gobots, Murray Strauss, Mikhail Gorbachev, juvenile violence, healthy start, age 18, school students, violence television, motion pictures, maclean's 22 1989, violence prevention, 22 1989, maclean's 22, morally correct, scholastic update 5, update 5 april, education digest november, 5 april 1991,
Approximate Word count = 2977
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)

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