mike tomas

Tragic events like the shootings in the comunity capture public attention and concern, but are not typical of youth violence. Most adolescent homicides are committed in inner cities and outside of school. They most frequently involve an interpersonal dispute and a single victim. On average, six or seven youths are murdered in this country each day. Most of these are inner-city minority youths. Such acts of violence are tragic and contribute to a climate of fear in schools and communities.

Research findings are identifying factors in the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior from early childhood to adolescence and into adulthood. Prospective longitudinal and intervention studies have identified major correlates for the initiation, escalation, continuation, and cessation of serious violent offending.

Many studies indicate that a single factor or a single defining situation does not cause child and adolescent antisocial behavior. Rather, multiple factors contribute to and shape antisocial behavior over the course of development. Some factors relate to characteristics within the child, but many others relate to factors within the social environment (e.g., family, peers, school, neighborhood, and community contexts) that enable, shape, and maintain aggression, antisocial behavior, and related behavior problems.
In today’s society, television is arguably one of the most universal components of people’s lives. Television is watched everyday by millions of people across the entire world. More and more children are beginning to discover television and what it is all about. The wide selection of shows, broadcasts, documentaries, and other programming have the youth of America beginning to watch more television. One of the more controversial topics being discussed today is violence on television and the effect it has on youths. Many parents argue that the violence that their children are being exposed to is harmful because if they see their idols doing it