What Causes Youth Aggression and Violence?
Societal Influences Some writers on the topic of youth aggression and violence say that any discussion of the causes of violence must begin with an examination of the nature of our society itself. They point out that our social organization systematically harms large groups of people such as ethnic and racial minorities, women, working class people, and the young (West, 1993) because it discriminates against them and leaves them economically and socially powerless and sometimes victims of physical violence. They note that violence in our society is often defined as the illegitimate use of force; that certain types of violence are considered legitimate because they are embodied in the legal system, the police, and the military. (West, 1993) Thus violence is an integral part of our society; students who behave violently are simply reflecting society as a whole. Some writers suggest that the nature of the school system also rationalizes the use of violence. The Eurocentric nature of the c
