Download Violence

Violence
Its relationship to poverty
and its consequences for children
Patterns of violence in U.S. and world—Overview
• UNICEF exhibit on small arms
• http://www.unicef.org/smallarms/exhibit/
Does poverty lead to violence?
• Controversial issue
• In a boat with no paddle
– Anomie (Robert Merton)
• The experience of adopting mainstream cultural values without the approved method
(or “institutionalized means”) of pursuing these goals
• Anomie can be resolved by
– “Innovation”
U.S. Statistics
• U.S. is most violent and heavily armed industrialized nation in world.
• American children under 15 are 12 times more likely to die from gunfire
than children in 25 other industrialized countries combined.
• Homicide is the third leading cause of death among children 5 - 14.
• Children are twice as likely as adults to be victims of violent crime
U.S. Statistics Continued
• Children are more likely to be killed by adults than by other
children.
• Violence has *declined*
• The media focus on adolescent violence disproportionately,
why?
• Violence is still an all too common part of children’s environments
growing up.
How does violence affect children?
Children who are victims or witnesses of violence are likely to
exhibit one or more of the following behaviors:
Effects of violence continued
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lowered self-esteem
withdrawal
poor school performance; difficulty paying attention
suicidal tendencies
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Effects on Infants and Young Children
• Infancy
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Erikson’s Trust vs. Mistrust Stage (0-1)
increased irritability and insecurity
Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
May regress developmentally
• Young Children
– must learn at a very early how to deal with loss and to grieve
Effects on School Aged Children
and Adolescents
• Exposure to violence and being a victim of violence are associated
with self-reported use of violence and carrying a weapon.
• Adolescents
The Cycle of Violence
• Children who observe violence at home may learn that violence is a
way of communicating and of dealing with life's everyday issues.
• Parents living with violence often communicate helplessness and
hopelessness and are, therefore, unable to help their children feel safe.
Causes of violence—
different perspectives
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Innate Inferiority (individual level)
• Cultural Inferiority (micro level)
• exposure to television violence (exo-meso-micro)
When we ignore societal (exo and macrosystem) factors and focus only
on individual factors, we blame the victim
• Social factors associated with violence
– poor more likely to be victims of crimes
– most victimized group?
– economic trends
– crowded housing conditions
– edu. systems overwhelmed and under-funded
– criminal justice system increasingly treats children & adults, outcome?
– gun laws and gun availability
The Cycle of Poverty
An alternative point of view
Corporate monopolization of major resources
Leads to
An inequitable economic and political system
Which leads to
Political powerlessness, economic and cultural exploitation, and
environmental destruction
Which leads to
Poor education and social services, minimal income,hopelessness, and
out-migration (e.g. flight of middle class from urban areas)
Which facilitates
Further corporate monopolization of major resources