Teen Violence

Parenting any teenager brings challenges but parenting violent teens can be extremely difficult. Learn risk factors associated with violent teens and get tips on getting help for violent teens. Stop the teen violence in your home now with help from this article.

One of the most difficult situations you can encounter in family life has to do with a violent teenager. Parenting violent teens can be quite a challenge. When possible, it is better to look for signs that your teenager might be developing violent tendencies and do your best to stop the problem before it gets out of hand. Understanding the things that can lead to violent teens is an important part of addressing the problem. Once you understand the risk factors, and identify a problem, then you can begin working toward a solution.

Teen violence risk factors

Risk factors that can contribute to teen violence come from many places. These factors include individual, family, school and the community. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as Family First Aid, offer the following risk factors that can lead to violent behavior in teenagers.

Individual risk factors

These are risk factors that violent teens often deal with in their personal lives that you should be aware of when parenting violent teens:

• Substance abuse.
• Social difficulties.
• Anti-social attitudes and behaviors.
• Problems with behavior control.
• Attention deficits and/or learning disorders.
• Aggressive behavior as a child.

Family risk factors

In some cases, violent teens experience problems at home. These family issues can result in violence.

• Inconsistency in discipline.
• Discipline measures that are either too harsh or too relaxed.
• Low education in parents.
• Lack of teenage supervision.
• Regular conflict in the home.
• Scenes of domestic violence.
• Lack of emotional attachment in the home.

School risk factors for teen violence

Sometimes what is going on in the educational setting can influence teenage behavior toward violence.

• Presence of bullies.
• Involvement with gangs.
• Falling grades.
• Difficulty finding friends.
• Disagreements with teachers and other authority figures.

Community risk factors

When you live in a community, there are a number of influences all around. In some cases, community situations can lead to teenage violence.

• High levels of transience.
• Social disorganization in neighborhoods and schools.
• High concentrations of residents in poverty.
• Low levels of economic opportunity.
• Gang activity.
• Lack of opportunities to participate constructively in community life.

Many of those who are parenting teens notice the presence of several different risk factors in their lives. When parenting violent teens, it is important to take note of these risk factors and issues, and do what you can to offset them.

Getting help for violent teens

When parenting violent teens, it is your job to make sure that they get the help that they need. Without proper help, teenagers can grow into abusive adults that have a hard time connecting in positive ways with others, and developing healthy relationships. The resultant depression and social anxiety can serve to heighten the problem of violence in a life. These types of behaviors should be addressed early on, in order to reduce the impact violence has on the future.

There are different ways to get help for violent teens. One of the most common options is to find counseling. Family counseling may be necessary, especially if there are a number of risk factors in the home situation. Counseling can help the teenager learn techniques to control his or her anger, and to channel it ways that are more constructive and less violent. This can also help parents learn skills to help with parenting violent teens.

More extreme solutions to violent teen behavior can include residential facilities and boot camps. These types of programs get the teenager away from the current environment, and provide opportunities to break down old habits, deal with anger and other issues, and develop more positive behaviors. However, it is important to note that when teens return from such experiences, they have continued help, encouragement and support. If possible, it can help to move to a different area of town, or switch schools, to limit the influences that originally led to the violent behavior.

Parenting violent teens is never easy, but you need to do your best. First, take an honest look at your home environment, and see if things can be changed. Then look for other ways to help your teenager, and your family, break the cycle of violence before it develops further.