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Understanding the Human Volcano: What Teens Can Do About Violence

NCJ Number
188408
Author(s)
Earl Hipp
Date Published
2000
Length
186 pages
Annotation
This book helps teens to understand the frightening changes that threaten their safety and teaches them how to take practical steps to reduce violence in their communities and in the world.
Abstract
The author first explains the complex and many causes of violence and traces the continuum of nonverbal, verbal, and behavioral violence. He emphasizes that violence breeds violence and that it is important to address violence and its seeds with constructive, nonviolent therapeutic measures in order to stop the escalation and cycle of violence. A chapter on the "Lessons of Violence" discusses what has been learned about violence from the various contexts and forms of violence, namely, family violence, school violence, community violence, and violence in various media that influence youth. In portraying violence as like a "volcano," one chapter examines why kids "explode," predicting "human volcanoes," characteristics of "human volcanoes," what to do if you think you could "explode," and how to deal with people at risk for violence. Six chapters discuss what youth can do to reduce violence in the world. They focus on what youth can do to reduce their risk for becoming violent, what they can do to prevent violence in relationships, what they can do to prevent violence at school, and what they can do to prevent violence in their communities and in the world. A listing of web resources and a subject index