A Continuum of Youth Violence

Teenagers are involved in millions of incidents of “ordinary” aggression each year. Hundreds of thousands commit serious acts of violence. More than a hundred thousand are arrested for assault. More than one thousand commit lethal assaults. In the United States, gun policies derive their meaning and application from the Second Amendment of the US Constitution's Bill of Rights. Attachment relationships reflect the type of trust, responsiveness, and sensitivity shown to infants by caregivers. Research in neuroscience suggests that chronic trauma influences the functioning of neurobiological processes, in turn sensitizing the brain to patterns of reacting and responding that become maladaptive in the larger society. Historical trauma involves massive group trauma that has cumulative effects on the mental health of a traumatized people. Ladd and Troop-Gordon found chronic peer rejection to predict negative self-competence, depression, and anxiety, as well as juvenile delinquency. Dehumanization involves psychologically, emotionally, and morally disconnecting from the worth of other human beings.