What makes a teenager violent? A new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that teens with poor academic performance were more likely to engage in violence.
- The national study found that 31% of all teenagers participated in one of three violent behaviors last year, including getting into a serious fight at school or work, being involved in group fighting, and attacking someone with the intention of seriously hurting that person.
- Gender differences were eight percent with 27% of girls and 35% of boys engaging in such violence.
- About 55% of teenagers with "D" grade point averages were involved in violent acts, and this was true regardless of their family income levels. Only 17% of "A" students were violent.
- One in four teenagers from families whose annual incomes were $75,000 or more were involved in violence, compared to 41% of adolescence from families whose incomes were less than $20,000 a year.
"Youth violence has long-lasting, devastating consequences -- the alarming rates of violence found by the study reinforced the importance of our efforts to prevent it," said Pamela Hyde, SAMHSA administrator. "These rates also underscored the need to treat the psychological trauma that can result from youth exposure to violence."
Labels: violence, failing_in_school
Posted By: CRC Health