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Understanding Youth Violence Through a Socio-Ecological Lens

Author

Listed:
  • Yok-Fong Paat

    (Department of Social Work, The University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX 79968, USA)

  • Kristopher Hawk Yeager

    (School of Education, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA 93012, USA)

  • Erik M. Cruz

    (Department of Social Sciences, Florida Memorial University, Miami Gardens, FL 33054, USA)

  • Rebecca Cole

    (School of Social Work, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA)

  • Luis R. Torres-Hostos

    (School of Social Work, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg, TX 78539, USA)

Abstract

Youth violence—the deliberate use of physical force or harm by young people between the ages of 10 and 24 to intimidate or cause harm to others, both online and offline—is a critical public health issue in the United States. Yet, successfully predicting future violent offenders is a complex and challenging task, as the question of why some youths resort to extreme violence while others refrain from it—despite facing similar risk factors—remains widely debated. This article highlights both risk and protective factors of youth violence through a socio-ecological lens to offer a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted factors driving youth violence in the United States. To understand the interconnectedness between individual factors and the broader environments in which individuals are embedded, we outline the risk and protective factors related to youth violence across five socio-ecological levels: (1) individual, (2) interpersonal, (3) neighborhood, (4) cultural, and (5) life course. Approaching youth violence from a holistic lens offers a greater opportunity to mitigate contributing factors and to address the deleterious impacts of this complex issue. Practice and research implications are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Yok-Fong Paat & Kristopher Hawk Yeager & Erik M. Cruz & Rebecca Cole & Luis R. Torres-Hostos, 2025. "Understanding Youth Violence Through a Socio-Ecological Lens," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:14:y:2025:i:7:p:424-:d:1698046
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlyn Ellison & Linda Struckmeyer & Mahshad Kazem-Zadeh & Nichole Campbell & Sherry Ahrentzen & Sherrilene Classen, 2021. "A Social-Ecological Approach to Identify Facilitators and Barriers of Home Modifications," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-13, August.
    2. Dylan B. Jackson & Melissa S. Jones & Daniel C. Semenza & Alexander Testa, 2023. "Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adolescent Delinquency: A Theoretically Informed Investigation of Mediators during Middle Childhood," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-18, February.
    3. Xuening Yao & Hongwei Zhang & Ruohui Zhao, 2022. "Does Trauma Exacerbate Criminal Behavior? An Exploratory Study of Child Maltreatment and Chronic Offending in a Sample of Chinese Juvenile Offenders," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-15, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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