Violence in the lives of adolescents

by Martha B. Straus

Violence in the Lives of Adolescents provides answers to some of the most pressing questions about today's youth: Why is there so much violence in their lives? Why is so little being done about it? What can be done to shape safer lives for adolescents? How can therapists evaluate and treat an adolescent who has been touched by violence? The author describes the book's theoretical framework as the ecology of violence; therapists can intervene to stop violence on any of four ecological levels - individual, family, community, social policy. Following a brief history of adolescence in America, Chapter 1 explores the effects of violence on normal adolescent and family development. Chapters 2 through 6 present five case studies, which illustrate the ecological approach to five crucial issues: suicide attempts, sexual abuse/running away, delinquency, juvenile sexual offending, and physical abuse of adolescents. For each case the author not only presents theory and research, but also demonstra