ABSTRACT
Violence is a universal part of society, and there is a contextual element to understanding which youth experience it. There are also many ways to characterize violence, particularly among youth. The two types of violence examined in this book are exposure to community violence and the perpetration of violent acts. Exposure to community violence happens when youth are directly victimized, witness someone else’s victimization, or hear about the victimization of others. Youth commit acts of violence when they violate laws prohibiting violence and engage in aggressive behaviors. These definitions set the stage for the authors’ discussion on placing youth violence in context and studying these experiences using a multilevel, ecological framework. The narrative also frames how youth violence is not monolithic and requires a nuanced approach to understanding youth violence risk and protective factors. There is much overlap among perpetrators and victims. The authors describe the reciprocal nature of victimization and perpetration of violence, the consequences of youth violence, and the need for a unified theory to study youth violence in context.
