ABSTRACT
Peers and the school environment are two of the most important contextual influences over youth development and violence experiences. As children age, peers and schools become more salient to their routine activities and lifestyles. In this chapter, the authors describe how peers and schools serve an important role in contextualizing youth violence. As youth age and become increasingly independent from their families, peers, and the school environment provide youth opportunities to engage in violence and become victimized directly or through witnessing or hearing about violence. Motivated offenders, target suitability, and capable guardianship are amplified or reduced by several factors, including interactions with peers (e.g., unstructured socializing, after-school activities, bullying), peer deviance and acceptance of violence, and happenings within the school and by its students (e.g., school shootings, suicides, gangs).
