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Social Ecology Approach to Violence in American Schools (From Violence in American Schools: A Practical Guide for Counselors, P 43-64, 2000, Daya Singh Sandhu and Cheryl Blalock Aspy, eds. -- See NCJ-185486)

NCJ Number
185489
Author(s)
Vicki Harris Wyatt
Date Published
2000
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article summarizes the literature concerning the perspectives of violence toward and among youth using a social ecology framework, a framework that considers the effects of multiple factors on violence.
Abstract
Schools are often viewed as the change agent in the community, and the school counselor is frequently considered to be the person with solutions to children's problems. However, there are multiple levels of interaction in a system and multiple factors should be considered in reducing school violence. Theoretical perspectives for examining school violence are reviewed, as well as levels of analysis, specific target areas that have been linked to youth violence (family violence and juvenile delinquency), counseling and other interventions to prevent school violence, and interventions across levels of analysis. A social ecology framework for analyzing school violence is presented that emphasizes issues and problems facing youth and associated risks and protective processes, interpersonal relations, family and school interactions, peer influences, and youth development. 87 references and 1 figure