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The Basics
Youth violence affects all communities and community members. It is a leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults. The impacts of youth violence can be devastating and last a lifetime, but preventing youth violence is possible.
Risk Factors
Research shows that a combination of individual, relational, community, and societal factors contribute to a youth’s risk of violent behavior. For example, some factors include exposure to violence at home or in the community, low parental supervision, gang involvement, and high levels of community unemployment, instability, and crime.
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Protective Factors
A young person’s skills, experiences, relationships, and community can help protect them from violence. These buffers include high academic achievement, connectedness to family or trusted adults, close relationships with non-violent peers, and involvement in positive activities.
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Outcomes
Youth violence has serious effects on the physical, mental, and social health of youth including increasing risk for depression, smoking, substance use, high-risk sexual behavior, academic difficulties, and suicide. It also takes a toll on communities’ health care and social service systems and property values.
Learn More- Community Violence Prevention Resource for Action.
This Prevention Resource for Action is a collection of strategies that represent the best available evidence to help states and communities prevent or reduce youth violence.
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Prevention Resource for Action: A Compilation of the Best Available Evidence
This is a resource to help states and communities leverage the best available evidence to prevent ACEs from happening in the first place as well as lessen harms when ACEs do occur. It features six strategies drawn from the CDC Resources for Action to Prevent Violence.
- Youth Violence Prevention Toolkit
This toolkit explores what youth violence is, what systemic factors perpetuate it, and how we can work together to prevent youth violence and create violence-free communities.
- Youth Violence Prevention Centers
Learn how CDC’s Youth Violence Prevention Centers (YVPCs) are leading the way in prevention with innovative strategies across the country.
* The titles of these documents changed in July 2023 to align with other Prevention Resources being developed by CDC's Injury Center. The original titles are noted in each document's suggested citation section.
- National Violent Death Reporting System
CDC has funded 50 states and territories and established the National Violent Death Reporting System to link information about the “who, when, where, and how” from data on violent deaths and provides insights about “why” they occurred. This enables policy makers and community leaders to make informed decisions about violence prevention programs, including those that address sexual violence and intimate partner violence.
- Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System monitors six categories of health-related behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults.
- National Electronic Injury Surveillance System – All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP)
The NEISS-AIP provides data on injuries resulting from self-harm that are treated in emergency departments.
- WISQARS
Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) is an interactive database that provides national injury-related morbidity and mortality data.