One of the greatest challenges we face in America is figuring out how to stop violence; stopping violent crimes perpetrated by teenagers has to be the first step. For parents, the long-term life experience of disadvantaged youth remains a constant worry, especially for those living high-crime areas like those found in Chicago and New York City . Developing effective programs at school or even private interventions have proven to be of minimal help, likely due to the long-held biased beliefs about the police and a society that doesn't support inner-city youth have led to automatic behaviors dangerous to these at-risk teens.
Violence Doesn't Need to be a Way of Life
There may be a break through. A controlled trial intervention was conducted in Chicago schools recently that provides a glimpse into a possible turning of the tide of youth violence in America. This program included regular interaction with a pro-social adult, after-school programming, and the novel idea of in-school programming designed to reduce common judgement problems and decision-making problems related to automatic behavior and biased beliefs, or what psychologists call cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The results were very encouraging to say the least.
Program participation by approximately 1,400 students resulted in a drop in violent crime arrests of teenagers by 44% during the program year. The program also saw gains in educational outcomes, which could lead to higher graduation rates. Depending on how one monetizes the cost of crime on our society, the benefit/cost ratio could be as high as 30:1 from the reduction of criminal activity. Not only can we see the possibility of a reduction in criminal activity, parents may find hope for a future for their troubled teens that doesn't include prison.