Youth Violence Resources

Fact Sheets:

• Vital Signs: Violence Impacts Teen’s Lives [685 KB, 2 Pages]
  CDC’s Vital Signs fact sheet includes key insights into the violence experiences of teens aged 14 to 18 using CDC’s 2019 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS).

CDC Reports:

• Youth Violence Prevention Resource for Action [4 MB, 64 Pages]
  This Resource for Action, formerly known as, “technical package,” is a collection of strategies that represent the best available evidence to help states and communities prevent or reduce youth violence. Also available in Spanish [3.89 MB, 68 Pages, 508].
• Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Resource for Action [4 MB, 38 Pages]
  This is a resource to help states and communities leverage the best available evidence to prevent ACEs from happening in the first place as well as lessen harms when ACEs do occur. It features six strategies drawn from the CDC Resources for Action, formerly known as, “Technical Packages to Prevent Violence.”
• Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools [6.01 MB, 373 Pages, 508]
  This compendium provides researchers and prevention specialists with a set of tools to assess violence-related beliefs, behaviors, and influences, as well as to evaluate programs to prevent youth violence.
• Changing the Course: Preventing Gang Membership [1.51 MB, 166 Pages, Print Only]
  This book describes the principles and promising practices for preventing gang-joining that practitioners and policymakers can use to guide decisions and long-term planning for reducing gang activity.
• Changing Course: Preventing Gang Membership [623 KB, 2 Pages, 508]
  A flyer about the book to print and share.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs):

• Basile KC, Clayton HB, DeGue S, et al. Interpersonal Violence Victimization Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019. MMWR Suppl 2020;69(Suppl-1):28–37. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su6901a4.
• David-Ferdon C, Clayton HB, Dahlberg LL, et al. Vital Signs: Prevalence of Multiple Forms of Violence and Increased Health Risk Behaviors and Conditions Among Youths — United States, 2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:167–173. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7005a4.
• Kann L, McManus T, Harris WA, et al. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance –United States, 2017. (2018).  MMWR Morb Mortal Surveil Summ;  67 (SS-08): 1-479. Available from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/pdf/2017/ss6708.pdf Cdc-pdfpdf icon[12.1 MB, 479 Pages, 508]
• Massetti GM, David-Ferdon C. Preventing violence among high-risk youth and communities with economic, policy, and structural strategies. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2016; 65(1):57-60.

CDC Data Sources:

• National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP)
  NEISS-AIP provides nationally representative data about all types and causes of nonfatal injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments.
• National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS)
  NVDRS links information about the “who, when, where, and how” from data on violent deaths and provides insights about “why” they occurred. This information can be used by states and communities to make informed decisions about prevention programs and track progress over time.
• School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS)
  SHPPS is a national survey conducted periodically to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels.
• Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)
  WISQARS is an interactive database that provides national fatal and nonfatal injury, violent death, and cost of injury data.
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS)
  YRBSS monitors health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among 9th through 12th grade students in the United States.

Other Federal Data Sources:

• Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), Department of Justice
  The BJS provides data on crime, victims, criminals, courts, police, jails and prisons in the United States.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
  The FBI collects data on crime in the United States. Each year, the FBI publishes a summary of crime in the United States, hate crime statistics, special studies, reports, and monographs.
• Indicators of School Crime and Safety
  This annual report, published by the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice, provides the most recent data available on school crime and student safety. It covers topics such as victimization, teacher injury, bullying, school conditions, fights, weapons, and student use of drugs and alcohol.
• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
  The OJJDP’s Statistical Briefing Book provides data on juvenile offending, victimization of juveniles, and involvement of youth in the juvenile justice system.

CDC Resources:

• CDC’s National Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (YVPCs)
  CDC’s YVPCs are academic-community collaborations that advance the science and practice of youth violence prevention.
• Best Practices for Implementation
  This guidance is intended to help states and communities take action to select and implement the strategies presented in the Resources for Action, formally known as, “technical packages.”
• Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (STRYVE)
  STRYVE is CDC’s national initiative to prevent youth violence. STRYVE helps communities take a public health approach to preventing youth violence—stopping it before it even starts.
• Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (STRYVE) Online
  STRYVE is a national initiative led by CDC to prevent youth violence. STRYVE Online is a resource on CDC’s VetoViolence website that helps communities develop and implement comprehensive plans to prevent youth violence.
• Veto Violence 
  CDC’s online source of free violence prevention training, tools, and resources.

Other Federal Resources:

• CrimeSolutions.gov
  The U.S. Department of Justice developed this resource to provide practitioners and policy makers with information about effective strategies in criminal justice, juvenile justice, and victim services.
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
  This website offers information on criminal and juvenile justice, supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and the Office for Victims of Crime Resource Center.
• National Gang Center (NGC)
  NGC disseminates information, knowledge, and practices that engage and empower communities with chronic and emerging gang problems to prevent gang violence, reduce gang involvement, and suppress gang-related crime.
• National Institute of Justice.
  NIJ is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ provides information and tools to inform the decision-making of the criminal and juvenile justice communities to reduce crime and advance justice.
• National Offices of Violence Prevention Network
  The National Offices of Violence Prevention Network is a coalition of local governments committed to reimagining public safety. The newly formed Network brings together the leaders of civilian local government offices dedicated to community-driven safety solutions, known as offices of violence prevention (OVPs).

• Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
  OJJDP provides national leadership, coordination, support, and resources to respond to juvenile delinquency and victimization.
• Youth.gov
  Youth.gov helps users create, maintain, and strengthen effective youth programs.

Additional Resources:

• Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development
  This is an online resource for communities to learn more about model or promising programs that reduce youth violence or key risk factors for violence and promote healthy youth behavior and relationships.
• Children’s Safety Network
  This Network provides resources and technical assistance to maternal and child health agencies and organizations seeking to reduce unintentional injuries and violence toward children and adolescents.
• The Community Guide for Violence Prevention
  The Community Guide, developed by the Task Force for Community Preventive Services, includes recommendations for preventing youth violence based on systematic reviews of evidence-based strategies.
• The National Gang Crime Research Center (NGCRC)
  NGCRC is a non-profit independent agency that conducts research on gangs and disseminates information through publications and reports, and provides training and consulting services.

Bullying Research
CDC’s web page that provides information about bullying.

Definitions:

• Bullying Surveillance Among Youths: Uniform Definitions for Public Health and Recommended Data Elements, Version 1 [8.64 MB, 116 Pages, 508]
  The definitions and data elements publication was developed to address the lack of uniform definitions and to improve and standardize data collected on bullying.

CDC Reports:

• Measuring Bullying Victimization, Perpetration, and Bystander Experiences: A Compendium of Assessment Tools [21.7 MB, 128 Pages, 508]
  This compendium provides researchers, prevention specialists, and health educators with tools to measure a range of bullying experiences.

• Technology and Youth: Protecting Your Child from Electronic Aggression [161 KB, 2 Pages, 508]
  This tip sheet provides an overview of electronic aggression, any type of harassment or bullying that occurs through e-mail, a chat room, instant messaging, a website (including blogs), or text messaging. It provides parents and caregivers with strategies for protecting children from this type of violence.
• The Relationship Between Bullying and Suicide: What We Know and What it Means for Schools [5MB, 10 Pages, 508]
  This document provides concrete, action-oriented information to help improve schools’ understanding of and ability to prevent and respond to the problem of bullying and suicide-related behavior.

Additional Resources:

• StopBullying.gov – English website
  StopBullying.gov provides information from various government agencies on what bullying is, what cyberbullying is, who is at risk, and how you can prevent and respond to bullying.
• Espanol.StopBullying.gov – Spanish website

School Violence
CDC’s web page that provides information about School Violence.

CDC Reports:

• Trends in the Prevalence of Behaviors that Contribute to Violence on School Property [122 KB, 1 Page]
  This fact sheet illustrates the trends in violence-related behaviors among youth as assessed by CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS).
• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) School Assessment (CSA) [359 KB, 40 Pages, Print Only]
  The purpose of the CPTED CSA is to rate the physical parts of the school that may have an impact on youth fear and aggressive behavior. This rating scale is based on School CPTED Principles.

• Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools [3.78 KB 230 Pages Print Only]
  This toolkit assists high schools and school districts in designing and implementing strategies to prevent suicide and promote behavioral health.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs):

• Holland KM, Hall JE, Wang J, et. Al., Characteristics of school associated youth homicides—United States, 1994-2018. MMWR 2019; 68(3): 53-60.
• Kann L, McManus T, Harris WA, et al., Youth risk behavior surveillance—United States, 2017. MMWR Surveill Summ2018; 67 (No.8).

Additional Resources:

• Adolescent Health: What Works in Schools
  CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health has established an evidence-based approach to school-based HIV and STD prevention, which includes quality sexual health education, connecting students to sexual health services, and establishing safe and supportive school environments.
• Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics
  The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.

• Guide to Community Preventive Services
  This is a resource for systematic reviews and recommendations about what works to stop school and youth violence.
• Health Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT)
  The HECAT contains guidance, appraisal tools, and resources to help schools conduct an analysis of health education curricula based on the National Health Education Standards and CDC’s Characteristics of an Effective Health Education Curriculum.
• Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2020
  This 2020 edition of the Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety by the Nation Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics highlights select findings on 22 indicators of the nature and prevalence of various school crimes and victimizations.
• School Connectedness: Strategies for Increasing Protective Factors among Youth
  When students feel connected to school, they are less likely to engage in a variety of risk behaviors, including violence and gang involvement, and they have higher grades and test scores and better school attendance. This resource provides school administrators and teachers with strategies to enhance school connectedness among students.
• School Health Index
  This assessment and planning tool can be used by schools to develop an action plan to improve health and safety. The tool covers five topics: unintentional injuries and violence prevention, physical education and activity, healthy eating, tobacco use prevention, and asthma.

School Associated Violent Deaths (SAVD)
CDC’s web page that provides information about the School Associated Violent Death Study.

Data Sources:

• School Associated Violent Death Study (SAVD)
  This data system, developed in partnership with the Departments of Education and Justice, monitors at the national level school-associated violent deaths, common features of these events, and potential risk factor for perpetration and victimization.

National Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (YVPCs)
CDC’s web page that provides information about the National Centers for Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention.

Publications:

• YVPC Overview [218KB, 2Pages, 508]
  This fact sheet provides an overview of the YVPCs program.

Additional Resources:

• YVPC Promo Video
• Voices of Change: Engage Youth, Prevent Violence Video
• Youth Violence Program Evaluation Tools
  The site complements and follows the CDC evaluation framework, presenting an engaging and interactive way for users to work through the evaluation planning process.
• YVPC Site-Specific Fact Sheets
  This website contains the site-specific fact sheets for the current YVPCs.

Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (STRYVE)
CDC’s web page that provides information about STRYVE.

Publications:

• STRYVE Information [602 KB, 2 Pages, 508]
• STRYVE Foundational Resource [174 KB, 38 Pages, 508]
• Executive Summary to the STRYVE Foundational Resource [115 KB, 2 Pages, 508]

Additional Resources:

• STRYVE Online