Each day, children commit countless acts of violence across the United States and worldwide. The problem is pandemic. A 2005 nationwide survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention found that 36 percent of high school students had been in a fight during the prior 12 months. The CDC also reports that almost 7 percent of high school students who participated in a 2005 national survey indicated they had taken a club, knife or gun to school in the prior 30 days. Concerned adults wonder why children are drawn to violence.
Violence Begets Violence
Acts of violence cover a wide range of behaviors, from bullying, pushing, hitting and slapping to fire setting, assault, robbery, rape and murder. In addition to whatever physical trauma they sustain, human victims of violence experience effects that can include low esteem, anger, anxiety, fear and trauma, according to Global Citizen. These feelings can fuel later impulses to engage in retaliatory violence, or to displace anger into violence against other victims. Through social learning, victims learn how to engage in violence, which they later inflict on others. Further, being a victim of violence heightens the likelihood of a victim developing a tolerant attitude toward violence, and of developing a view that violence is an acceptable means of dealing with problems, according to the World Health Organization. Consequently children who are victims of violence have a greater likelihood of engaging in violent behavior themselves, according to the World Health Organization.
Witness to Violence
Witnesses of violence often experience similar adverse effects as the direct victims, according to WHO, and like the victims, they are more likely to engage in violent behavior. Whether they observe acts of violence directed against family members, see peers bullying others in the schoolyard or watch violence on TV or at the theater, children who observe violent behavior are more likely to commit acts of aggression, as noted by WHO and Global Citizen.
Genetics
Children are born with the capacity to become aggressive and violent when exposed to certain developmental experiences and environmental triggers, according to the website Law.JRank.org. This capacity serves the crucial adaptive function of allowing humans to potentially respond to harsh, violent or aggressive environments. Whether born into a tough neighborhood or into a violent society, humans are equipped to respond in kind when presented with aggression and violence. Certain genetic patterns seem to heighten the disposition toward violence. For example, male children and adults with excessive amounts of the male hormone, testosterone, may be more aggressive, and specifically inclined to "fight back" more reactively in response to perceived threat, according to the website, Law.JRank.org
Socialization
Given the genetic substrate of humans' potential for violence, it only makes sense those children who grow up in the midst of violence become more inclined to administer violence. Children raised in abusive families have a heightened likelihood of acting violently, according to many sources, including Global Citizen and WHO. The mechanisms that activate this potential for violence include basic learning principles. Elements of society, from aggressive parents and peers, to violent media, to zealous football coaches offer direct and modeled rewards for violent and aggressive behavior. Violence creates its own rewards when children get what they want by acting violently, plus they often win the respect or deference of peers. So long as there exist violent strains in society that implicitly or explicitly reward violence, children's potential for violence will manifest itself.
Medical and Other Conditions
Certain medical, psychiatric and other conditions may heighten children's propensity toward violence. Factors that increase central nervous system arousal or lower inhibitions can increase the likelihood of violence. Fetal alcohol syndrome, Tourrette-Syndrome, seizure disorder and brain trauma can all contribute toward violent behavior according to Web4Health.info. Psychiatric conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Asperger's syndrome, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder and conduct disorders also enhance the likelihood of violent and aggressive behavior. Drug and alcohol abuse encourage violent acts, both through disinhibition and through peer pressure.
