Caribbean Secondary Examination

Certificate
Electronic Document Preparation and
Management
School Based Assessment

CANDIDATE NAME: JEREMIAH JAMES

CANDIDATE #:

SCHOOL NAME: TUTORIAL HIGH SCHOOL

CENTRE #:090054

TEACHER NAME: MISS CARR

TERRITORY: GUYANA

DATE OF SUBMISSION: FEBRUARY 7TH, 2020

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Assignment Two

(Research)

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SUBJECT: ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT PREPARATION AND MANAGEMENT

CANDIDATE NAME: JEREMIAH JAMES

TOPIC: THE PREVALENCE OF VIOLENCE AMONG YOUTHS WITHIN THE SOCIETY

CENTRE NO#: 090054

CANDIDATE #:

NAME OF SCHOOL: TUTORIAL HIGH SCHOOL

TERRITORY: GUYANA

TEACHER: MISS CARR

DATE SUBMITTED: FEBRUARY 7TH, 2020

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENT PAGE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………….............................................4

INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………….........................5

TYPES OF YOUTH VIOLENCE……………………………………………………………....6

CAUSES OF YOUTH VIOLENCE…………………………………………………………….7

INCIDENTS OF YOUTH VIOLENCE………………………………………............................8

EFFECTS OF YOUTH VIOLENCE…………………………………………………………....9

STATISTICS OF YOUTH VIOLENCE……………………………………….. ……………... 10

SOLUTIONS…………………………………………………....................................................11

BIBILOGRAGHY……………………………………………………………............................12

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 Acknowledgement

Many individuals helped to produce this School Based Assessment (SBA). I am so indebted to
the help from my aunt Miss Nichols who was invaluable in developing the SBA. I would like to
also thank my parents for their constant support and my subject teacher Ms. Carr for her
guidance.

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 Introduction
What is youth violence?

Youth violence involving young persons, typically children, adolescents, and young adults
between the ages of 10 and 24. The young person can be the victim, the perpetrator, or both.
Youth violence includes aggressive behaviors such as verbal abuse, bullying, hitting, slapping, or
fist fighting. These behaviors have significant consequences but do not generally result in serious
injury or death. Youth violence also includes serious violent and delinquent acts such as
aggravated assault, robbery, rape, and homicide, committed by and against youth. In addition to
causing injury and death, youth violence undermines communities by increasing the cost of
health care, reducing productivity, decreasing property values, and disrupting social services.

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 Types of Youth Violence

The types of youth violence include:

 Physical assault (with or without a weapon)

 Robbery.

 Sexual assault.

 Homicide.

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 Causes of Youth Violence

The causes are:

1. Media influence

Research indicates that violence in the media influences teens and can cause them to act
aggressively. Although it is difficult to determine whether or not violence in media leads
directly to youth violence, studies have shown that playing violent video games increases
aggressive thoughts and behaviors. In fact, one study found that violent video games not
only escalate aggressive behaviors.
While video games often get the most attention, violence in media isn't limited to video
games. Violent media also can include the Internet, television, magazines, movies, music,
advertising, social media, and more. Basically, media consists of anything your teen sees,
hears, or interacts with.

2. Communities and Neighborhoods

Research shows that youth violence can become a form of "street justice" in response to the
of police protection in some neighborhoods. When this happens, teens may attempt to
secure the neighborhood by using violence as a way of bringing order to the area. As a result,
youth violence often manifests as gang violence, turf wars, gun wars, and other types of
violence. When teens live in socioeconomically challenged neighborhoods, they may feel
like their only option for survival is to join a gang or to engage in violence. When this line of
thinking is the norm, teens are likely to act aggressively and participate in violent behaviors.

3. Domestic Violence and Child Abuse

Children who live with violence in the home learn by example and can become violent
people as they grow up. They also are more likely to experience teen dating violence,
either as a victim or an aggressor.

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 Other contributing factors include harsh parenting styles, along with chaos in the home,
neglect, and rejection. Each of these situations can lead to youth violence later in life
because of the lack of stability and structure in the home. Being violent gives teens a
feeling of power and control something they lack at home.

4. Insufficient Parental Supervision

When parents do not provide adequate supervision, teens are prone to engage in
aggressive behaviors or criminal activity. Without adult supervision, teens do not have
the resources needed to make good choices or to recognize risks.

Consequently, these teens tend to make friends with the wrong people, take unnecessary
risks, and experiment with things an involved parent would not allow. When parents are
too permissive, their kids often have no motivation to do well in school and may even
stop caring about their future.

5. Peer Pressure

Peer pressure plays a pivotal role in youth violence, especially because kids are more
likely to engage in risky or violent behaviors when they act as a group. Teens who
normally would not be aggressive or violent on their own often feel empowered when in
a group.
Additionally, teens are more likely to be violent or aggressive when they feel pressured.
They also may become violent in order to maintain their place in the group. Peer pressure
can lead teens to engage in risk-taking behaviors.
6. Drug and Alcohol Use
Alcohol and drug use has long been associated with the risk for youth violence. Both
alcohol and drug use can increase aggression and reduce fear, which increases the
likelihood of youth violence.

While teens usually engage in recreational drug and alcohol use to feel good, prolonged
use of illicit drugs often brings about feelings of depression, anger, and frustration. These
feelings can then lead a teen to exhibit behaviors of aggression and rage.

7. Traumatic Events

Dealing with traumatic events also can cause violent behavior in teens. For instance,
teens who lose a friend in a car accident that they also were involved in often get angry at
the fact that they were the ones that lived.

Because anger is a normal stage of grief, a violent outburst from these teens may seem
justified. But, while anger is a normal emotion, it is not normal to be violent toward
another person. When violence occurs, it should always be addressed.

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 Teens who exhibit signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be prone to
violence. Violent outbursts are typically a symptom of PTSD, and if left untreated, can
manifest in significantly violent situations. For this reason, it is extremely important for
teens with PTSD to get the counseling and intervention that they need.

8. Mental Illness
Mental illness is another cause of violence among teens. Conditions including attention-
deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and
conduct disorder all have aggressive behaviors or angry feelings as common symptoms.
Teen mental illness sometimes hides behind other causes of youth violence. For instance,
a teen with bipolar disorder may be using drugs. If this teen becomes violent, the drug use
could hide the fact that the bipolar illness is part of the cause.

For this reason, it is important that teens engaging in violent behaviors are evaluated for a
mental illness. By treating the entire person rather than just the symptoms, you are more
likely to reduce the risk of additional violent outbursts.

Incidents of youth violence

It was the belief of the then Chief Education Officer at the Minister of Education in Guyana that
the increase in violence among our youth is cause for great concern. The headlines are replete

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with accounts of the incidents and the statistics speaks to troubling trends in relation to youth
involvement in crime.
There have been numerous accounts of the level of deviant behaviour occurring in schools.
Teachers have long voiced their concerns in relation to their sense of powerlessness in the face of
the increasing number and severity of the incidents which are occurring. More troubling are the
accounts of these issues occurring at increasingly younger ages.
Teachers have noted that our children at astonishingly low levels in the system are demonstrating
unprecedented levels of anger and aggression.

Statistics of Youth Violence

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Some of the main findings of recent studies are that the majority of victims as well as
perpetrators of crimes reported by the Police are young males 18 to 35 years old. Caricom
Secretary General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque 80 per cent of prosecuted crimes are committed
by youths between the ages of 19 and 29. There are a number of socio-economic determinants of
crime, of the least of which is the high youth unemployment in the Region of 25 per cent in
2017. That is three times the average and the highest,” the Secretary General pointed out.

CHILDREN FROM THE AGE 5-10 ENGAGED IN YOUTH

VIOLENCE

Boys
girls

Solutions of Youth Violence

Youth violence can be stopped by :

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 1. Improving areas for children to play and provide supervised activities.

2. Get them involved in community projects.

3. Provide help, guidance and support for the children

Bibliography

https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2018/01/21/youth-violence-and-the-education-system/ by
Oltato Sam. Accessed: February 7, 2020

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https://www.verywellfamily.com/causes-of-youth-violence-2611437 Denise Witmer. Accessed
June 9, 2020

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