Community Level Factors example essay topic

Kyle Hutton 3-21-01 Gun Control Each year, guns end the lives of thousands of young people. Families and friends are left to cope with the loss of a life lived and to have a future overshadowed by the violence. Nearly 80% of all teenage deaths are the result of violence like homicides, suicides motor vehicle crashes and other unintentional injury ("Risk and Protective"). Teenage violence has gone up almost 300% in the last thirty years ("Teenage Violence in America", 1) and it is still rising.

Protection, Precaution and warning sign are what this world needs to be informed of, so here you go. In 1998, among youth ages 10 to 19 in the United States, there were 2,601 homicide deaths, and homicide was the second leading cause of death for the age group (" Youth Violence Statistics"). Also in 1999, 1,763 youth under 18 were arrested for homicide in the United States ("Youth Violence Statistics"). After reading these two statistics there is only one conclusion you could come to. Our young people today are out of control. Teenagers have our world in the palm of their hand and they are slowly destroying our wonderful communities all around the world.

It is now generally believed that multiple factors combine to contribute to and shape behavior over the course of adolescent development. Studies suggest it is the confluence to certain "risk" factors that contribute to violent behavior and the existence of certain "protective" factors that create resiliency. Risk factors are generally defined as scientifically established factors or determinants for which there is strong objective evidence of causal relationship to a problem. Protective factors are those that potentially decrease the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors. Both of these factors can influence the level of risk an indicia l experience or can moderate the relationship between the risk and the outcome of behavior ("Risk and Protective Factors"). Researchers have come up with what they call The Ecological Model.

In these model there are four levels of factors that they say contributes to the behavior of an individual ("Risk and Protective"). The first level is Environmental. This level plays an important role in creating conditions that can contribute to a culture of violence among a particular group of people or in given community ("Risk and Protective"). The environmental factors are those that consider larger issue such as social values and the impact of the media policy of legal decisions ("Risk and Protective"). The second level is the Community level factors. On a community level factors include things like the availability of drugs and firearms, community deterioration or disorganization and access to quality educational and recreational opportunities ("Risk and Protective").

Communities can create opportunities for youth to participate in activities where they have choices, decision-making power, and shared responsibility. Such experiences help them to develop new skills, increase self-confidence and offer a chance to make a difference ("Risk and Protective"). The next level is Family level factors. It as been proven that children or youth that have been physically abused or neglected are more likely than other children to commit violent crimes ("Risk and Protective"). Research has determined that family dynamics and parental or caregiver involvement are significantly correlated with an individuals propensity to engage in violent behavior ("Risk and Protective"). A lack of parental interaction and involvement increase the risk for violence ("Risk and Protective").

The last level is Individual Level Factors. The Individual level factors are identified as those behaviors or characteristics that affect one person's risk of, or resistance to, potentially engaging in violent behavior ("Risk and Protective"). Other research indicates that there is strong evidence for the co-occurrence of mental health disorders, such as depression, and among children or youth with antisocial or delinquent behavioral problems ("Risk and Protective"). In order to prevent youth violence in our world, we must have a clear understanding of the scope of the problem. Statistical data is critical to the efforts, because they help define the extent and types of violence and allows us to monitor progress in prevent different types of violence ("Youth Violence Protective"). At home there are many are many things you can do in order to help teach children about violence and how to cope with violence when it does happen to them.

In the home a parent needs to teach their child from preschooler age that guns and other weapons hurt and kill people. Also show children how to settle arguments without resorting to words or actions that might hurt someone else (" Teenage violence homepage"). Most importantly if you choose to own a firearm, handgun, riffle or shotguns, make sure they are unloaded and securely stored (" Teenage Violence Homepage"). Please invest in trigger locks, gun cabinets with a lock or pistol lock boxes. There is a new device that keeps young children from firing a handgun, it has been invented by the undergraduate engineering students at John Hopkins University (Sneiderman, 1). This new device is much better than another that has been use before.

This device works without relaying on electronic locks. The device automatically switches the gun back to "safe" mode as soon as the weapon leaves the adults hand (Sneiderman, 1). Unlike trigger guards with their key or combination that is requires for using the gun, the Hopkins students device works by covering and manipulating a pistol's existing safety level and also it is at a low price of only thirty-five dollars (Sneiderman, 1). This device like many others helps a child from firing the gun, but there was no hope for my friend Anthony Stone.

I guess you can say he is why I have such a strong opinion on teen violence. Anthony was only fifteen when he died. He was just like any normal fifteen-year-old, he thought he know everything. But the one thing he did not know is what killed him. Anthony did not know that in a 9 mm pistol even though there is no clip in the gun there could still be a bullet in the champers. Just as Anthony and his friends thought he was just playing with a unloaded gun until his two best friends, Matt and Patrick, saw blood go every where and Anthony fall to the ground.

Anthony had shoot himself through the temple and died less than 2 hours later in University of Louisville hospital on February 13 2000. That was the worst Valentines Day I have ever had. No one will ever understand the pain you go through when you loose a close friend or relative until it happens. I would never wish that pain and suffering on anyone else but after all this happened it really opened my eyes to how violent our world has gotten over the last years. It made me think about when I have children and what I am going to do to protect them after they are born. Anthony's death really affected his two friends Matt and Patrick.

Both of the boy stop going to school and got in a lot of trouble. After about six months Matt just stopped coming around. He told everyone it hurt him to bad to be around us. The Patrick decided to go in the army and we have never seen him since. Death can really change a person but no matter where Matt an Patrick go they will always have a special place in my heart.

Homicides committed by youths under 18 years of age accounted for 11.4% of all homicides in 1999 ("Youth Violence Statistics"). Juveniles accounted for 17% of all arrested and 16% or all violent crimes arrests in 1999, including 14% of aggrauted assault arrests, 17% of forcible rape arrest and 27% of weapons arrests in 1999 ("Youth Violence Statistics"). But the one statistics that really upsets me is in 1998, among youth ages 10 to 19 in the U.S., there were 2,054 suicides, and suicides was the third leading cause of death for this age group, and more than 60 percent of those youth suicides in 1998 were firearm-related suicides ("Youth Violence Statistics"). That is just crazy what so many of our youths are doing because they are playing with guns and killing themselves. There are 192 million privately owned firearms in the United states, with 7.5 million guns being added to that total each year (Wenner, 3). Plus most al of the guns used in these killings and suicides came from the children's parents or a relative.

There are 192 million guns out there just waiting to fall in the wrong hands and something bad happening. In my own opinion I believe that it's the parents responsibility to teach that child that guns are not to be played with because you can really hurt someone. All my life I have grown up in a house full or guns. My dad has two different gun cabinets but I was taught from a very early age not to ever or close to that closet. I knew that closet was off limits to me and that I would get in big trouble it I ever opened that closet. I do not understand what is so hard about teaching a child that guns are not a play toys.

My parents taught me so why can't other parents do the same. "Music doesn't put guns in the hands of children, video games are not the root cause of teenage anger. Art- high or low is not the culprit. You don't stop children from hurting other children by stopping them from playing with toy guns. You protect children by taking away real guns (Wenner, 4). If you ask me I think it is up to the parents to teach a child about gun-control safety.

But not only do children need parents to help them, they also need a healthy community to grow up in. A healthy community will help shape a child personality and also for some children their communities help give them the support that they lack at home from their parents. A healthy community can also act as a good guide for those children who do not have parents that live in a dream world. By a dream world I mean those parents who say things like " My child would never do that".

Parents may think they know their children but all parents should always be open to anything. Children are going to make mistake in their lives. You just have to find a way to dill with the problems, not block it out, because it will let your child see that you are blocking everything out and they will turn around and get in more trouble just to see if they can get you attention. If you deal with the problem and teach your children what they were wrong about then you are doing your part in helping this world solve the teenage violence problem. In Japan, Canada, Australia and, indeed, most Western industrialized nations, violent movies, music and video games are the norm, but access to firearms is not. "In 1996 handguns were used to murder 2 people in New Zealand, 15 in Japan, 30 in Great Britain, 106 in Canada, 213 in Germany and 9,390 in the United States" (Wenner, 3).

After reading that I beat I opened your eyes. Our country has more than 9000 more death each year because of handguns than any other country. That to me should says something, either our country is doing some major wrong or maybe country is doing something major wrong on proposes. Even after reading all these statistics there was still one story that top it all off. In one of the articles that I found there was an interview with a man whose son was just killed. In the interview the reporter said "You know, you did everything right.

Your son went to the best school. He was an athlete and a scholar. He had a scholarship for college. He was well liked by everyone and he did everything right yet he was killed". The man then looked up and he said "I forgot to do one thing. I forgot to raise the other children" (Pro throw, 2).

After I read that I just wanted to cry. Parents are taking the blame for their children's death when they should not be. A parent can only do so much and it is up to that child to choose how to use what their parents gave them. Every parent in America should realize that as long as they are doing their part it is not their fault. It is not a parent's responsibility to raise the whole world. It is just their responsibility to raise their own and do a good job with that.

To prevent teen violence, there are many obstacles that must be overcome. Children need to be brought up in a safe healthy environment. We need to emphasize youth and community evolvement and we need to have classes to teach out children responsibility and confidence.