Teen Violence

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Prevention and Risk Factors

Learn More

• Related Issues

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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For You

• Teenagers

Summary

Teen violence refers to harmful behaviors that can start early and continue into young adulthood. The young person can be a victim, an offender, or a witness to the violence.

Violent acts can include:

• Bullying
• Fighting, including punching, kicking, slapping, or hitting
• Use of weapons such as guns or knives

Some violent acts can cause more emotional harm than physical harm. Others can lead to serious injury or even death.

An important risk factor for violence in teens is the behavior of their friends and classmates. You should know who your kids hang out with and encourage healthy behavior and relationships.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• Common Reactions After Trauma (National Center for PTSD) Also in Spanish
• Helping Children and Adolescents Cope With Traumatic Events (National Institute of Mental Health) Also in Spanish
• Violent Behavior in Children and Adolescents (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Children's Threats: When Are They Serious? (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Also in Spanish
• Expect Respect: Healthy Relationships (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• About Teen Dating Violence (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Children and Firearms (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Also in Spanish
• Screen Violence and Children (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Also in Spanish
• Sexual Harassment (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Teen Dating Violence and Drug Use (Drug Enforcement Administration) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• About School Violence (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Highlights of the 2012 National Youth Gang Survey (Department of Justice)
• Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2023 (Department of Education) - PDF
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Teen Violence (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: The association between adverse childhood experiences and co-occurrence of health risk...
• Article: Associations of adverse childhood experiences with mental health and behaviors among...
• Article: Exposure to neighborhood violence and substance use among adolescents: Findings from...
• Teen Violence -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• KidsHealth (Nemours Foundation)
• National Institute of Mental Health Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• School Violence: What Students Can Do (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Youth and Teens Page (National Runaway Safeline)