ABSTRACT
High rates of violence and even homicide among youth in many countries underscore the importance of identifying and developing effective prevention approaches, strategies, and programs. This chapter provides a character education perspective on preventing youth violence in schools and other settings, by relating a school-wide primary prevention framework for evidence-based character development (Primed) to a moral-cognitive developmental and cognitive behavioral program (EQUIP). This perspective has primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention applications. Given that character development is a complex and gradual process, character education should focus on the long-term development of at-risk youth toward responsible adulthood.
