Youth Aggression and Violence (PDF)

The rash of school shootings in the late 1990s has generated a tremendous amount of public concern about youth aggression and violence. But students, trainees, and professionals who work with children and adolescents have had no concise or systematic survey of our current knowledge about causes and effective approaches to intervention and prevention on which to draw. Youth Aggression and Violence has filled the void.

Comprehensive and readable, it:
* utilizes theory and research from the developmental psychology of "normal" children and adolescents, as well as material on "abnormal" forms of development, such as disruptive behavior disorders and juvenile delinquency;
* situates youthful aggression and violence within the overall framework of children's moral development;
* integrates quantitative research with carefully considered qualitative research and case studies;
* discusses the genetic and biological underpinnings of youthful aggression, as well as family and social factors related to antisocial behavior;
* emphasizes cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes involved in youth aggression and violence;
* provides in-depth coverage of juvenile killers and school violence;
* examines female aggression and violence in a variety of contexts; and
* critically examines a number of questions frequently discussed in conjunction with youth violence, such as media violence, firearm accessibility, and the relationship between self-esteem and aggression.