Abstract
Why does violence occupy our daily consciousness—in the newspapers, on television, and as a topic of discussion between neighbors? Although it has become a theme of modern American society, the myriad manifestations of violence make it difficult to define. In this chapter we define violence as a behavioral act that results in physical injury. Although most violent behavior produces relatively minor injuries, long-term disability and death are also frequent consequences. In fact, throughout history the two leading causes of mortality have been infectious diseases and violence (Rosenberg & Fenley, 1991). Of the current five leading causes of death, two, suicide and homicide, are the results of violent acts, and violence has become the leading cause of death for young black males. There is also convincing evidence that the rate of violence in the United States is distinctly higher than in most other developed countries.
Born: 10-8-77. Shot to death: 3-16-93. Age: 15.
Rodney was chatting with friends near Fairground Park one evening in mid-March when he made the casual remark that would kill him.
Referring to one youth, Rodney turned to a girl and quipped: “Hey, you’re picking them real young these days.“
The youth became angry, walked around the corner and returned with a gun. He fired four shots at Rodney.
“This is one of those homicides that get to you because the victim was a good kid,” said Homicide Detective Sgt. Joe Beffa. “This was a clean-cut young man who had a lot going for him. His death truly was senseless.”
Rodney lived with his twin brother, Robert, an 8-year-old sister, and his mother, Janet Carter, in a neat town-house in the 4200 block of North Florissant Avenue. Police call it a high-crime area.
“I constantly question God as to ‘Why?’” said Carter, a housekeeper at St. Anthony’s Medical Center.
Rodney was a ninth-grader at Rockwood South Junior High School, where he starred in basketball. Relatives described him as an outgoing young man.
“Three girls were crying over his casket consoling each other at the funeral,” Carter said. “Then they found out he was seeing them all at the same time.”
Homicide detectives arrested a 15-year-old for Rodney’s murder. He has been charged as an adult and is awaiting trial.
“They say kids are our future,” Janet Carter said. “I can’t see us having a future if they keep killing each other like this.”
—Bryan and Bell (1993)
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Stiffman, A.R., Earls, F., Dore, P., Cunningham, R., Farber, S. (1996). Adolescent Violence. In: DiClemente, R.J., Hansen, W.B., Ponton, L.E. (eds) Handbook of Adolescent Health Risk Behavior. Issues in Clinical Child Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0203-0_11
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