Teenage Violence Essays (Examples)

violence in the public schools. Teen violence in general has become a major concern in America today. One of the reasons for the issue being so prevalent is the number of school shootings in the last few years, especially the shooting at Columbine High in Littleton, Colorado. hile the welfare of young people is always of concern, much of the fear being generated at the present time is excessive. For one thing, teen violence is not the new phenomenon many people seem to think it is, and an analysis of our history shows that violence in the schools has always been a problem and that in fact it is diminished at the present time. In truth, though, any school violence is too much, and ways of eliminating it and protecting students in school must be found. Several "solutions" to the problem have been offered.

One such recommendation is school uniforms,…

Works Cited

Access Control & Security Systems Integration Facility Systems Staff. "Devising an effective school security plan." Access Control & Security Systems Integration (1 July 2000).

Bowman, Darcia Harris. "Federal Study Stresses Warning Signs of School Violence."

Education Week 21(15)(12 Dec 2001), 12.

Clinton, Bill. "Memorandum on the School Uniforms Manual." Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (March 4, 1996), 368-369.

Teen Violence

Imagine being caught in the middle of a crossfire with two students shooting and you are right in the middle of it. Well that is exactly what students and teachers in Littleton, Colorado went through. On April 20, 1999, at approximately 12:20am, two students armed with semi-automatic handguns, shotguns and explosives conducted an assault on the Columbine High School and the people inside. A total of 12 students, 1 teacher and 2 suspects were killed; 24 students were transported to six local hospitals; and 100 students were treated at the scene (www.Littleton.org).Isthis what is happening inside the walls of where America's youth is suppose to be learning and in a safe environment. What can we do to prevent events like this from happening? It is a question we are constantly searching for answers to. There seems to be no concrete answers or solutions just certain explanations.

Many people,…

Bibliography. Joan Nordquist; Santa Cruz, CA: Reference and Research Services, 1994.

Violence Prevention: Totally Awesome Teaching Strategies for Safe and Drug-Free Schools. Linda Meeks and Philip Heit; Meeks Heit, 1994.

causes of teen violence, "Missing the Mark" by Jackson Katz and Sur Jhally, and "Stop Blaming Kids and TV" by Mike Males. Katz and Jhally argue that teen violence is a male-centric occurrence caused by socialization that promotes violent masculinity. Males provide a gender-neutral view of teen violence that he believes is caused by parents who engage in domestic violence.

Because of the obvious differences in these theories, it's tempting to try to advocate one premises over the other, but further thought shows that these two theories are complimentary because the family plays such a large part in the male socialization process.

Both articles deal with the subject of teenage violence and avoid placing blame on teens for their troubled behavior. Instead, these articles present the idea of imitation as a cause of teen violence, but they differ on who the kids are imitating. Males states that teens are copying…

The extreme power of this new cultural tool is the very nature -- it depends on nothing but an electronic connection. it, like many things in the modern world, is instantaneous, satisfying the 21st century need to have both dependence and independence based on our own decision or whim. Therein lies the confusion for many -- just how real is an electronic friendship that can exist without really "knowing" the person physically? How robust are virtual relationships except in the mind of those participating? and, how do we know with whom we are actually chatting or forming a bond -- could the mother of three living in Scotland be something quite different on the Internet? and, specifically, what impact might these social networks from a psychological perspective? (Gross, 2004).

Besides community, technology has changed entertainment for teens. Violence in the entertainment genre is not something that is new to the…

References

Ahn, J. (2011). Digital Divides and Social Network Sites: Which Students Participate in Social

Media. Jounral of Educational Computing Research, 45(2), 147-63.

Anderson-Butcher, D., et.al. (2010). Adolescent Weblog Use: Risky or Protective. Journal of Child and Adolescent Social Work, 27(2), 63-77.

Anderson, B. (1999). Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso Publications.

Teenage Issues in America

While many parents would like to believe that teenage culture in the United States is just about hanging out with friends, movies and fun, statistics reveal that teenage issues, such as alcohol and drug abuse, violence and sexual orientation, are one of the most critical problems in America (Sound Vision, 2003). The following statistics, while not representative of every teenager, demonstrate the extent of these problems.

Teenage sexual orientation has become a major problem in the U.S. (Sound Vision, 2003). In the U.S., seven in 10 women reported having had sex before age 14, and six in 10 of those who had sex before age 15 reported having had sex involuntarily. Nationally, one-quarter of 15-year-old females and less than 30% of 15-year-old males have had sex, compared with 66% of 18-year-old females, and 68% of 18-year-old males who have had sexual intercourse.

In addition, nearly one…

Bibliography

Dew, Diane. (March 11, 1995). The Troubles Teens Face. The Covington News.

Karzon, S. (August 1, 2003). Juvenile delinquency. The Daily Star.

Sound Vision Foundation, Inc. (2003). U.S. Statistics on Teens. Sound Vision. Retrieved from the Internet at  http://www.soundvision.com/Info/teens/stat.asp 

The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (1996). Facts in Brief: Teen Sex and Pregnancy, New York: The Alan Guttmacher Institute.

Violence in Video Games

Guiding Question: Should the government have to be involved in legislation regarding video game content?

Proof 1: Explain how First Amendment ensures freedom of speech, including video game content.

"It is not the government's job to forbid content in media. It is the responsibility of the parents to decide what their children should play.

Body Paragraph 1: Music censorship case and ratings system for video games

Body Paragraph 2: Research evidence

Body Paragraph 3: Sociological implications and blaming

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution insists that citizens of the U.S. have the right to free speech. This Amendment has been utilized by artists from a wide variety of genres and talents to preserve their right to express themselves and prevent any form of censorship. Most calls for legislation regarding censorship have actually come from the parents of America's youth. Rather than take responsibility for…

Works Cited:

Anderson, Craig (2003). "Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions."

Psychological Science Agenda.

Benedetti, Winda. (2008). "Playing the Blame Game." MSNBC. Retrieved from  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23204875/ 

Chalk, Andy. (2007). "Inappropriate Content: a Brief History of Videogame Ratings and the ESRB." The Escapist.

& Naugle, A. (2008). Intimate partner violence theoretical considerations: Moving towards a contextual framework. Clinical Psychology Review, 28(7), 1096-1107.

Eckhardt, C.; Jamison, T.R. & atts, K. (2002). Anger Experience and Expression Among Male Dating Violence Perpetrators During Anger Arousal. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17(10), 1102-1114.

Eckhardt, C.; Samper, R. & Murphy, C. (2008). Anger disturbances among perpetrators of intimate partner violence: Clinical characteristics and outcomes of court-mandated treatment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(11), 1600-1617.

Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (2010). Controversies Involving Gender and Intimate Partner Violence: Response to Commentators. Sex Roles, 62(3-4), 221-225.

Palo Alto Medical Facilities (PAMF). (2010). Abusive Romantic Relationships. PAMF.org.

Smith, M. & Segal, J.…

Works Cited:

Bell, K. & Naugle, A. (2008). Intimate partner violence theoretical considerations: Moving towards a contextual framework. Clinical Psychology Review, 28(7), 1096-1107.

Eckhardt, C.; Jamison, T.R. & Watts, K. (2002). Anger Experience and Expression Among Male Dating Violence Perpetrators During Anger Arousal. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 17(10), 1102-1114.

Eckhardt, C.; Samper, R. & Murphy, C. (2008). Anger disturbances among perpetrators of intimate partner violence: Clinical characteristics and outcomes of court-mandated treatment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(11), 1600-1617.

Langhinrichsen-Rohling, J. (2010). Controversies Involving Gender and Intimate Partner Violence: Response to Commentators. Sex Roles, 62(3-4), 221-225.

In addition, factors that cause stress such as divorce or death increase the likelihood that a teenager will have aggressive tendencies (Peterson and Sheldon 2006). Additionally maternal depression, substance abuse or maternal anxiety can all lead to aggressive behaviors in teenagers (Peterson and Sheldon 2006).

According to Peterson and Sheldon (2006) teenage aggression can also be linked to neuropsychiatric disorders. In fact the authors asserts that

"Persistent aggressive behavior is a common feature in many neuropsychiatric disorders and is the most common reason for referral to a child and adolescent mental health clinic [1]. Neurological features associated with aggression include low overall IQ and relative deficits in verbal learning, memory, and fluency [2]. Deficits in executive functioning and working memory are also common [3] and may be especially pronounced with co-occurring attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)."

The aggressive behavior can involve lashing out at family members, friends or strangers. The…

Works Cited

Arseneault L, Tremblay RE, Boulerice B, (2002) Obstetrical complications and violent delinquency: testing two developmental pathways. Child Development, 73:496 -- 508.

Dodge KA, Pettit GS (2003) A biopsychosocial model of the development of chronic conduct problems in adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 39:349 -- 371.

Facts for teen Aggression. Retrieved November 26, 2009 from  http://www.herkimercounty.org/content/Departments/View/11:field=services;/content/DepartmentServices/View/68:field=documents;/content/Documents/File/123.PDF 

Feindler E.L. (2005) Adolescent Aggression and Anger Management. Encyclopedia of Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Springer U.S.

Teenage Girls Involved in Abusive Dating elationships

Aggression in teenage dating leading to physical, emotional and psychological damage is a social problem not only because of its effects on the teenagers but also because of its prevalence.

Howard and Qi Wang (2003) report figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that overall the prevalence of non-sexual courtship violence ranges from 9% to 65%, depending on the definitions and research methods used. Howard and Qi Wang's study reported "almost one in ten of the 9th- through 12th-grade females who participated in the 1999 Youth isk Behavior Survey reported being a victim of physical dating violence (i.e., had been hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose) within the past year." Further studies and figures report that about one in five of adolescent girls has experienced dating violence. Some of the physically abusive behaviors perpetrated in dating include being scratched,…

References.

Bush, Vanessa. (2002). A thin line between love and hate: dating violence strikes one in every five teenage girls. Essence November 2002. Retrieved November 7th,2003, from www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1264/7_33/96384286/print.jhtml.

Gillies-Bradley & Wagner Tammy L. (2003). When love hurts. Briarpatch, 32(2), 18-19.

Howard, Donna E. & Qi Wang, Min. (2003). Risk profiles of adolescent girls who were victims of dating violence. Adolescence Spring 2003. Retrieved November 7th,2003, from www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m2248/149_38/103381757/print.jhtml.

James, William H., West, Carolyn, Deters, Karla Ezrre, Amigo, Eduardo. (2000). Youth dating violence. Adolescence Fall 2000. Retrieved November 7th, 2003, from www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m2248/139_35/68535843/print.jhtml

Teenage Bullying

Chink, Spic, Terrorist, Whore, Nerd. These words seem to be just the beginning sparks of what most people characterize as bullying. The words and phrases are familiar enough; high school students across the country hear these insults being thrown out just as commonly as a larger student with his gang picking on a smaller and weaker student. The essence of teenage bullying has not changed; rather, with the amount of digital media and social platforms created today, there seems to be more reason to expect bullying -- both at school and online.

Bullying itself comes in many forms and sizes. It can be one hulking, leader-like personality with the aim at a Machiavellian increase in status in the school's social standing (Hamarus). Another can be the result of a racial slur and the violent actions taken against a differently ethnic individual -- perhaps even using an entire gang…

Resources

Hamarus, Paivi, and Pauli Kaikkonen. "School bullying as a creator of pupil peer pressure." Educational Research 50.4 (2008): 333-345. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.

Kennedy, Helen. "Phoebe Prince, South Hadley High School's 'new Girl,' Driven to Suicide by Teenage Cyber Bullies." NY Daily News. 29 Mar. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2011. .

Pierce, Tamora. "Don't Let Bullies Win." Dare to Be Stupid. 30 Mar. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2011. .

Rivero, Victor. "The Politicization of Bullying." District Administration 47.1 (2011): 54. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.

Violence in the Family, Violence Against Children is a Cycle

To have a rational understanding of the cycle of violence and abuse that occurs within families as a result of past sexual abuse and present drug abuse upon the heads of the family, one must seek explanations for such bad parental behavior without excusing the negative behavior on the part of the adults themselves. If no causes of violence can be determined, and only legal vengeance is enacted against the perpetrators of abuse, then merely punishment will occur and the cycle of violence and hatred will never end. It is better to redress such crimes, moreover, with an eye to reforming the family, rather than in a spirit of retributive justice.

An example of this can be seen in the child psychologist Torey Hayden's book One Child. In her text, the author and teacher chronicle the abuse of one of…

Works Cited

Hayde, Torey. One Child. Avon, 1980

Kruger, (February 7, 2003). "DCF Policy Shift." St. Petersburg Times. Front Page.

The document states this in this wording (United Nations):

Bearing in mind that the need to extend particular care to the child has been stated in the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child of 1924 and in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted by the General Assembly on 20 November 1959 and recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (in particular in articles 23 and 24), in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in particular in article 10) and in the statutes and relevant instruments of specialized agencies and international organizations concerned with the welfare of children.

Thus under the leadership of the United Nations, many different groups have joined forces to improve the quality of lives of children around the world.

Opposing Arguments

Many people have defended the Chinese culture and…

Works Cited

Garvin, G. "Tiger mom Amy Chua roars with new controversial book about 'America's elite'." 2 February 2014. Miami Herald Books. Online. 15 April 2014.

Intlekofter, K. "Discipline or abuse?" 3 December 2012. John Hopkins Magazine. Online. 15 April 2014.

Jiali, G. "Child abuse in a culture of non-interference." 7 June 2012. China.org.cn. Online. 14 April 2014.

Pedro, B. "Study debunks 'tiger mom'- myth: children worse grades, are more depressed and more alienated from their parents." 12 May 2013. The Economy of Meaning. Online. 15 April 2014.

Violence in Video Games

Unlike movies, video games are not regulated by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), which is ironic because there are a wealth of studies indicating children do not distinguish between fantasy and reality in a gaming environment (Ferguson, 2011). Simply put, the more time children, adolescents and teenagers spend playing a video game the more they see their reality as the gaming environment (Boyle, McLeod, ojas, 2008) (Hartmann, Vorderer, 2010). To argue that games are not as powerful of an influence on children is ridiculous, yet ironically the FCC regulates who can see a movie by its content alone and has refused to take action on games (Soh, Tan, 2008). In June, 2011 the Supreme Court struck down a California law that fined retailers $1,000 for each occurrence or infraction of selling or renting violent games to anyone under the age of 18 (Lemmens, Valkenburg, Peter, 2011).…

References

Josh Bernoff, Charlene Li. 2008. Harnessing the Power of the Oh-So-Social Web. MIT Sloan Management Review 49, no. 3 (April 1): 36-42.

Boyle, M., McLeod, D., & Rojas, H.. (2008). The Role of Ego Enhancement and Perceived Message Exposure in Third-Person Judgments Concerning Violent Video Games. The American Behavioral Scientist, 52(2), 165.

Beth Snyder Bulik (2008, May). Despite recession, video-game industry shows massive growth. Advertising Age, 79(20), 6.

Cliff Cheetham (2008, April). Marketing strategies in the gaming community.

Video Violence: Assessing and Curbing the Effects of Television

Violence within Youth Programming in the United States of America

In today's day and age, technology has become a cornerstone of the American existence. With each passing day, new and improved technological devices turnover in order to bring the outside world into the individual American home, but the television has remained unaffected. The television and its programming have remained a constant yet changing staple in the country that brings with it an unparalleled ability to shape its watchers, with the most affected being the children and youth of America. While so many individuals immediately connect the phrase "children's programming" to harmless programs like Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, the truth remains that along with this wholesome educational programming, violence has also become a constant in many of the television programs geared toward children today. In viewing the research that is…

Bibliography

Hesmann, L.R. et al. "Early Exposure to TV Violence Predicts Aggression in Adulthood."

Developmental Psychology, 39(1): pp. 201-221.

Keer, Gregory. "The Effects of Seeing TV Violence." Parenthood. 2010. Web. 8 November

2012. http://www.parenthood.com/article-topics/the_effects_of_seeing_tv_violence.html.

violence in the media can create violent behavior in children and teens. Many studies show that watching violent media, such as video games, films, and even the television news can cause violent behavior in children and teens, and that behavior can continue into adulthood.

Several different studies have indicated that violence in the media can produce violent and aggressive behavior in children and teens. Two researchers note, "In the past decade, media-effects researchers have progressively reached consensus that exposure to television violence can result in aggressive behavior" (Greene & Krcmar, 2005). In addition, a fifteen-year study by the American Psychological Association (APA) also showed that both men and women are affected by media violence, and that adults who watched this media as children tended to be more violent, and convicted of more violent crimes (Partenheimer, 2003). In the past decade, violence has become much more common in the media, as…

References

Editors. (2009). Children and media violence. Retrieved 4 Dec. 2009 from the MediaFamily.org Web site:  http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_vlent.shtml .

Greene, K., & Krcmar, M. (2005). Predicting exposure to and liking of media violence: A uses and gratifications approach. Communication Studies, 56(1), 71+.

Partenheimer, D. (2009). Childhood exposure to media violence predicts young adult aggressive behavior, according to a new 15-year study. Retrieved 4 Dec. 2009, from the American Psychological Association Web site: http://www.apa.org/releases/media_violence.html.

This section is followed by another, referring to the spiritual life. The author also provides advice in this area, in order to help seniors with certain aspects.

The article is quite easy to be understood by anyone, it is written from a personal perspective and experience, backed by the psychological professional formation of the author. The author divides the article into clear sections, each of them addressing a specific subject of high importance.

The article successfully manages to clarify certain aspects that usually raise questions from seniors or from other age categories. The advice provided by the author is very pertinent and it covers a wide range of issues.

3. Life without television

Television is an important part of most people's lives. Its benefits have become so obvious and so important that a series of studies and analyses have been performed in order to establish the power and the influence…

Reference list:

1. Brain, M. (1997). Relationships Are Random. The Teenager's Guide to the Real World. BYG Publishing, Inc. Retrieved January 18, 2010 from  http://www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw/chap10excerpt.htm .

2. Coping With Old Age (1996). Seniors Site. Retrieved January 19, 2010 from http://seniors-site.com/coping/old_age.html.

3. Moskowitz, C. (2008). Out There: People Who Live without TV. Live Science. Retrieved January 19, 2010 from  http://www.livescience.com/culture/080904-no-tv.html .

teenage sexuality. The writer links research and theory to a practical problem and discusses how they are similar. The writer also discusses teenage sexuality in the context of education. There were six sources used to complete this paper.

Americans have adjusted a lot of their thinking when it comes to teenage sexuality during recent years. There was a time when a pregnant teen would have been removed from the school and sent to a school for unwed mothers. There was a time when a sexually active female was labeled a slut, or said to be loose. Those days are on the retreat as Americans accept teenage sexuality more than ever before. With that acceptance comes the question of when and how to teach sex education. Schools are at a crossroad because they are dealing with pregnant teens but many parents are opposed to the sex education of their children within…

References

Mallet, Pascal; Apostolidis, Themistoklis; Paty, Benjamin (1997). The development of gender schemata about heterosexual and homosexual others during adolescence.. Vol. 124, The Journal of General Psychology, pp 91(14).

Feigenbaum, Rhona-Weinstein, Estelle-et al.,(1995). College students' sexual attitudes and behaviors: Implications for sexuality education.. Vol. 44, Journal of American College Health, pp 112.

Brody, Stuart; Rau, Harald; Fuhrer, Niklas; Hillebrand, Heiko; Rudiger, Daniela; Braun, Manuel (1996). Traditional ideology as an inhibitor of sexual behavior.. Vol. 130, The Journal of Psychology, pp 615(12).

National Poll Shows Parents Overwhelmingly Support Comprehensive Sex Education Over Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage by 5 to 1 Margin (Accessed 10-23-2002)  http://www.siecus.org/media/press/press0028.html

al, 1994). Furthermore, the role of police in a community has to change from merely trying to suppress gang activity to actively trying to prevent gang activity. (Spergel, et. al, 1994).

The proliferation of gangs is one of the most pressing social problems facing modern America. While the primary purpose of gangs may be to engage in criminal activity, they serve other social functions that attract teens as gang members. Each teen who becomes involved in a gang runs a significant risk of not being able to participate in normal, non-criminal society. Therefore, it is important to understand how teens become involved in gangs and to focus efforts on prevention. Although no one theory seems capable of entirely explaining how and why teens become involved in gangs, the various criminological theories and the social disorganization theory are capable of giving insight into why children feel attracted to gangs. These theories…

References

Cantillon, D., Davidson, W., & Schweitzer, J. (2003). Measuring community social organization: sense of community as a mediator in social disorganization theory.

Journal of Criminal Justice, 31, 321-339.

Jones, D. et al. (2004). Street gangs: a review of theory, interventions, and implications for corrections. Ottawa: Research Branch Correctional Service of Canada.

National Youth Gang Center. (2006). National youth gang survey analysis. Retrieved November 2, 2006 from National Youth Gang Center

In this article, the author describes the technological, demographic, and market forces shaping this new digital media culture and the rich array of Web sites being created for children and teens. Many nonprofit organizations, museums, educational institutions, and government agencies are playing a significant role in developing online content for children, offering them opportunities to explore the world, form communities with other children, and create their own works of art and literature. For the most part, however, the heavily promoted commercial sites, sponsored mainly by media conglomerates and toy companies, are overshadowing the educational sites. ecause of the unique interactive features of the Internet, companies are able to integrate advertising and Web site content to promote "brand awareness" and "brand loyalty" among children, encouraging them to become consumers beginning at a very early age. The possibility that a child's exploration on the Internet might lead to inappropriate content, aggressive advertising,…

Bibliography

Hansen, C. (2003). Catching potential Internet sex predators [Electronic Version]. MSNBC. Retrieved 27-

7-2006 at  http://www.webcitation.org/5JcD9Dul1 

Cassell, Justine and Cramer, Meg (2004) High Tech or High Risk: Moral Panics about Girls Online. Center for Technology & Social Behavior. online available at

Children and Violence

Exposure to domestic violence can have negative effects on children that may result in short-term or long-term complications in the child's life. Taking timely and appropriate measures help limit the negative effects such experiences may have on children. Young kids living in families experiencing domestic violence are a disempowered lot. They develop limited emotional literacy and verbal skills. Further, the environment occasioned by domestic violence is that of intimidation and secrecy. The caregivers are also less emotionally available to the children. Together, such factors restrict the children's opportunity and capacity to make their opinions heard. To help the children, their preferences should be considered and a healthy environment that ensures the maintenance of the daily routine of children is maintained in the temporary shelters. They should be continually supported and support structures established in every area that the children are. Discussed in this paper are the consequences…

Bibliography

Brown, R., & Luppi, F. (2010). Domestic Violence and Children. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 1-12.

Carpenter, G. L, & Stacks, A.M.(2009). Developmental effects of exposure to intimate partner violence in early childhood: Are view of the literature. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(8),831-839.

Ehrensaft, M.K., Cohen, P., Brown, J.,Smailes, E., Chen, H., & Johnson, J.G. (2003). Intergenerational transmission of partner violence: A20-year prospective study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71(4), 741.

Epstein, C. & Keep, G. (1995). What children tell Children about domestic violence. In A. Saunders, C. Epstein, G. Keep & T. Debbonaire (Eds.), It hurts me too: Children's experiences of domestic violence and refuge life. Bristol: WAFE/Child-line/NISW.

2. I agree wholeheartedly with the author. Random acts of kindness do make the world and our society a better place. We need to become more aware of the connections between people. We do need to smile more, treat others with deep respect, and recognize the impact our actions have on other people. Instead of walking around angry all day, we need to develop a positive frame of mind and speak and act with kindness.

Universal health care would reflect a deep change in our culture. We have become so focused on our independence that we forgot the value of sharing and caring. Our selfishness and greed has led to a situation in which most Americans cannot afford adequate healthcare. Yet Americans are afraid of making small sacrifices that could benefit our society such as paying slightly more taxes to fund a truly universal system…

Gang Violence Prevention

Gang Violence

Study of each and every society around the world gives us a phenomenon, which indicates at a certain graph related to organized crime. American society has long been associated with such a vice, and there have been many unearths made in this direction. There has been a lot of study and research associated with fact that how these gangs formed and what is the major motivational factor behind such activities. Several studies in this regard have brought forward certain phenomenon which forms the basis of gang formations and majority of which is related to unsatisfied social structure. These gangs are formed in the societies, which are highly disintegrated and have developed into individually functioning micro units. Extensive liberalization of political policies and the general promotion of individualistic approach towards life in most countries have motivated certain individuals in direction of organized crime, and this is…

Bibliography

Alleyne, E., & Wood, J. (2010). Gang involvement: Psychological and behavioral characteristics of gang members, peripheral youth and non-gang youth. University of Kent. Retrieved from:  https://kar.kent.ac.uk/27523/2/Gang_involvement_-_Revised2_ACCEPTED_by_Aggressive_bevhavior.pdf 

Donnellan, M.B., Trzesniewski, K.H., Robins, R.W., Moffitt, T.E., & Caspi, A. (2005).Low self-esteem is related to aggression, antisocial behavior, and delinquency. Psychological Science, 16, 328-355.

Dukes, R.L., Martinez, R.O., & Stein, J.A. (1997).Precursors and consequences of membership in youth gangs. Youth and Society, 29, 139-165.

Esbensen, F-A., Winfree, L.T., Jr., He, N., & Taylor, T.J. (2001). Youth gangs and definitional issues: When is a gang, and why does it matter? Crime and Delinquency, 47, 105-130

Help her to realize that having a child may interfere with her future career, but that many mothers have successful home and job lives. There are an infinite number of options, and a determined teenager can find a way to success. Do not skirt around the issues of danger, however, as teenagers are more likely to miscarry or have other complications with their pregnancy such as premature labor and low birth weight of the child. Teenage mothers are more likely to need bedrest during the late stages of pregnancy, and a cesarian section during birthing, and the child is at greater risk for any number of complications.

Of course, while supporting a pregnant teen is vital, the key to solving the problems faced by teenagers dealing with pregnancy is to stop it before it happens.

Provide accurate and unashamed information about sex and pregnancy to children and teenagers, and encourage…

Bibliography

Adolescent Anger and Aggression." Psychiatric Institute of Washington. 2001.  http://www.psychinstitute.com/mental_illness/adol_anger.html 

Combat Teenage Sexual Abuse." NSPCC. 2001.  http://www.nspcc.org.uk/html/home/informationresources/combatteenagesexualabuse.htm 

Getting a Sexually Transmitted Disease." Frequently Asked Questions. American Social Health Association. http://www.iwannaknow.org/faqs/getting.html

Lamprecht, Catherine. "Talking to your Child about STDs." KidsHealth. Nemours Foundation. 2001.  http://kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?dn=KidsHealth&lic=1&ps=107&cat_id=171&article_set=23006

School Violence

Schools have more esponsibility to Prevent School Violence than ever before

Issues related to school violence have become an increasingly salient issue in modern society. This issue affects schools on many levels. On one level, there rise in the number of tragedies such as mass shootings have increased and these incidents clearly illustrate the need for safer educational environments for children and adolescents. However, there are also more subtle examples of violence that can occur in school environments such as bullying. The evidence that bullying is severe physical and psychological detriment to students has become increasingly clear. Furthermore, technology has also offered new platforms in which violence can occur between students. For example, there have been many cases of online bullying that have occurred on social networks. This analysis will provide a brief overview of different types of violence that can occur in schools as well as a…

References

Adelman, H., & Taylor, L. (2002). Building Comprehensive, Multifaceted, and Integrated Approaches to Address Barriers to Student Learning. . Childhood Education, 261-268.

Beccerra, S., Munoz, F., & Riquelme, E. (2015). School violence and school coexistence management: unresolved challenges. Procedia, 156-163.

Crews, G. (2014). School Violence Perpetrators Speak: An Examination of Perpetrators Views on School Violence Offenses. Jouranl of the Institute of Justice and International Studies, 41-62.

Criminal Justice

Juveniles who are Imprisoned for Life with No Parole

We live in a world where human beings of any age commit and are punished for menial to heinous crimes. In other words, humans at every stage of life are committing and being punished for crimes, including children and teenagers, called juveniles under the law until they reach adulthood. The paper will explore and debate the pros and cons of sentencing juveniles as LWOPs. The paper will reference recent and groundbreaking cases of juvenile crime and debatable sentencing. The paper aims to provide a modern context within which to examine and debate the use of life sentencing without parole for juvenile offenders. Ultimately, the paper concludes that LWOP for juveniles should, with great discrimination and in the rarest of cases, be used around the world, but before doing so, the stipulations for its use must be clearly stated and…

References:

Agyepong, Tera. "Children Left Behind Bars: Sullivan, Graham, and Juvenile Life without Parole Sentences." Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights, Vol. 9, No. 1, 83 -- 102.

Aero, Evelyn, Fakudze, Ntsika W., Judson-Patrick, Ann Marie, Korolev, Leontiy V., Latif, Saira N., Lydon-Lam, Bobby Y., McBride, Kalli Dee, Nekoomaram, Javeneh, Sledd, Samantha K., Smerbeck, James R., & Tao, John L. "The United States of America: Juvenile Life without Parole." United Nations Human Rights Council, Vol. 9, 1 -- 6., 2010.

de la Vega, Connie, & Leighton, Michelle. "Sentencing Our Children to Die in Prison: Global Law and Practice." University of San Francisco Law Review, Vol. 42, 983 -- 1044, 2008.

Hechinger, Scott R. "Juvenile Life Without Parole: An Antidote to Congress's One-Way Criminal Law Ratchet?" N.Y.U. Review of Law and Social Change, Vol. 35, No. 408, 409 -- 496, 2011.

Certainly it would give rise to debate within the community, and would perhaps because it circumvents the authority that was asserted by the community in limiting the teen's awareness to abstinence, would eventually have to be abandoned because of the ways in which the community would relate the process to what it actually is: getting the kids the information on birth control.

If educating the kids as to the alternatives available to them is prohibited, then it becomes incumbent upon the health professionals to take the discussions to the parents. Since most kids, estimated at 47%, say that their decisions about sex are most influenced by their parents (the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2007, found online at then educating the parents must become the focus of the effort. If Vermilion Parish and other places within and outside of Louisiana would tie the hands of educators and health professionals…

Reference List

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Sexual Health Statistics for Teenagers and Young Adults in the United States, September, 2006.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 'American Opinion on Teen

Pregnancy and Related Issues 2007, found online at retrieved 14 March 2009.

Domestic violence is an ongoing experience of physical, psychological, and even sexual abuse in the home that is often a method used by one adult to establish control and power over another person (Flitcraft et al., 1992). Exposure by children to marital aggression is now a recognized public health concern. The investigation of the effects of the exposure to this type of aggression on the functioning of a child is a significant societal concern. Marital conflict is generally defined as any difference of opinion between martial or domestic partners whether it is minor or major. Marital conflict can assume many different forms including displays of both negative and positive emotions and/or constructive and destructive tactics. Marital aggression is characterized by physical and/or psychological abuse and would fall at the negative extreme on a continuum of marital conflict (Cummings, 1998). Marital psychological/verbal aggression refers to things such as threats, insults, and…

References

Babcock, J.C., Green, C.E. & Robie, C. (2004). Does batterers' treatment work? A meta-

analytic review of domestic violence treatment. Clinical Psychology Review 23(8), 1023-1053.

Carlson, B.E. (1984). Children's observations of interparental violence. In A.R. Roberts (ed.),

Battered women and their families (pp. 147 -- 167). New York: Springer.

Domestic violence is a major problem in today's society that has significant effects in the well-being and proper functioning of the family and society. Generally, domestic violence and threat of violence contributes to the emergence of fear that basically destroys the normal functioning of the family and eventually affects the society. omen, children, and young people are the most commonly targeted and affected by violence or the threat of violence at home. The effect of domestic violence on individuals is attributed to the fact that exposure to violence in the immediate social environment generates considerable challenges and difficulties for the individual. The home or family environment acts as the immediate social environment for the growth and development of a person.

Brief Description of Domestic Violence:

Domestic violence has traditionally been regarded as a personal problem rather than a social problem. However, violence or the threat of violence has increased significantly…

Works Cited:

Ooms, Theodora. "A Sociologist's Perspective on Domestic Violence: A Conversation with Michael Johnson, Ph.D." CLASP - Center for Law and Social Policy. Center for Law and Social Policy, 2006. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .

"Sociological Effects on Women - Violence Against Women." Violence Against Women. Weebly.com, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .

Music on Teens Actions

In the past 40 years all kinds of music has turned out to be more and more overt predominantly towards the negative side like sex, drugs, aggression and violence. Lately two of the genres which have caught great attention is hard rock music and rap music. In most of the cases, the lyrics of the music are made in such a way that they induce negativity in the developing minds of the teenagers. This negativity is reflected in their actions in the form of drug abuse, aggression, violence, sex and rebellious actions towards parents, family, family and society in general. This kind of negative music is a major concern these days because it poses mental and physical threat to the teens of today. Some of the other alarming effects of such music are pregnancy, STDs, accidents, killing and this has resulted to be the normal lifestyle…

Works Cited

Burns, Kate. The American Teenager: Examining Pop Culture. Annotated Edition. Publisher Greenhaven Press, 2003. ISBN 0737714670, 9780737714678, pg 150-189.

Connell, J., and C. Gibson. Sound tracks: Popular music, identity and place. London: Routledge. Pg 145-147. 2003.

Hawkins, S. Settling the pop score: Pop texts & identity politics. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. Pg 121. 2002.

Martino, S.C., Collins, R.L., Elliott, M.N., Strachman, A., Kanouse, D.E., & Berry, S.H. Exposure to degrading vs. non-degrading music lyrics and sexual behavior among youth. Pediatrics, 2006, 118, 430 -- 444.

Television remains the single most influential medium in the lives of young people. However, a three-year National Television Violence Study found: "two-thirds of all programming contains violence; children's programs contain the most violence; the majority of all entertainment programming contains violence; violence is often glamorized; and the majority of perpetrators go unsanctioned" (Muscari 2002).

Television violence is graphic, realistic and involving, shows inequity and domination, and portrays most victims as women, children and the elderly (Muscari 2002). Children tend to focus on the more intense scenes, such as violent moments, rather than story components, and these "aggressive acts lead to a heightened arousal of the viewer's aggressive tendencies, bringing feelings, thoughts and memories to consciousness and can cause outwardly aggressive behavior" (Muscari 2002).

hen video games were introduced in the 1970's, they quickly became a favorite pastime for children, and now make up a $10+ billion industry. Today, children average…

Work Cited

Chory-Assad, Rebecca M. (2005 December 01). Effects of affective orientation and video game play on aggressive thoughts and behaviors. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. Retrieved January 16, 2007 from HighBeam Research Library.

Kirn, Timothy F. (2006 September 01). Nature and media's nurture spawn girl violence.

Family Practice News. Retrieved January 16, 2007 from HighBeam Research Library.

Muscari, Mary. (2002 November 01). Media violence: advice for parents.

Awareness about psychology behind domestic violence has been greatly enhanced in recent years, as have legal protections for victims. However, the courts' major decisions on domestic violence cases have been somewhat equivocal. For example, in the case of Castle ock v Gonzales, the abused woman filed a complaint against the police department, arguing that it violated her right to Due Process when "acting pursuant to official policy or custom" the police "failed to respond to her repeated reports over several hours that her estranged husband had taken their three children in violation of her restraining order against him. Ultimately, the husband murdered the children" (Castle ock v Gonzales, 2012, Cornell). In the case, the woman had a restraining order against her husband, prohibiting him from coming near her or her children. However, ultimately the court did not find favor with the defendant since a restraining order is not a property…

References

Castle Rock v Gonzales. (2012). Cornell University Law School. Retrieved:

 http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/04-278.ZS.html 

Hiatt, Heidi. (2011). Landmark domestic violence legislation: Tracey Thurman vs. Torrington,

CT. Time's Up. Retrieved:  http://timesupblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/landmark-domestic-violence-legislation.html

Sex and Violence in V

Sex and Violence on V and in the Movies:

Should Sex and Violence Continue to be Restricted for American Audiences?

here are many things that our society has been exposed to, especially with the advent of technology, and many of these things have not been positive. For instance, the new generation's constant obsession with sex and violence, one may state, is not exactly healthy. Yet younger and younger children know, from the internet, video games, and television shows, about sex and violence, and how these are portrayed in daily life. hough children must be aware of various things, sometimes, they need not learn of such topics at a young age. his paper will, therefore, argue that sex and violence on television and in the movies should continue to be restricted to minors, as it currently is, and will provide various opinions and facts on this…

The movie ratings of today vary in severity. The MPAA website explains, very clearly, why it chooses to restrict various movies, and why ratings are necessary. For instance, on its website, it clearly includes a page that has all ratings, which vary from G (General Audiences) to NC-17 (No One Under 17 and Under Admitted). It is important, due to the gruesomeness of some films and television shows, as well as due to sexual nature, that parents do follow these guidelines, thereby allowing children to learn, at their own pace and at a proper age, rather than in an unrealistic way, often portrayed by television and movies, what sex and violence truly means and how harmful these can sometimes be to society, as well as how they can affect it. This can mean that parents should truly try to abide by the ratings given by the MPAA, which, again, include G (General Audiences a.k.a all ages), PG (Parental Guidance Suggested a.k.a some material may not be suitable for children), PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned, no minor under 13 without parents admitted), R (Children under 17 Require Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian), and NC-17 (No One 17 and Under Admitted).[footnoteRef:1] There is a reason why these guidelines are in place, and for this reason, parents should follow them. [1: "What Each Rating Means." Motion Picture Association of America. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. . ]

The reason why this paper argues so strongly pro-censorship and the need thereof is not just because of those individuals who have already instituted this system for a certain purpose, but also because there are various articles and studied written on the topic as to how widely and negatively children can be affected by being exposed to the harshness of humankind from a young age, especially with regard to violence and sex. The Parents Television Council, for instance, has many papers from which to start.[footnoteRef:2] And yet another website offering advice with regards to this topic is Parenthood in America.[footnoteRef:3] In this latter website's article, "Protecting Children from Harmful Television," it is clear to see why ratings are necessary. As the article states, "Much research suggests that television viewing is related to a host of negative outcomes in children. Studies have found that television viewing is associated with aggression, a "desensitization" to violence, and increased fear […] Given that children's exposure to television is inevitable, parents may wonder what they can do to protect their children from experiencing these and other negative effects. The purpose of this paper is to discuss one option for controlling children's television viewing: the use of television ratings. More specifically, this paper will briefly describe the history and development of television ratings, discuss three of the major problems associated with television ratings, and then finally point out some of the other methods that are available to help parents cope with the presence of television in their children's lives."[footnoteRef:4] [2: "Studies on Violence and Sex in the Media - Parents Television Council." Parents Television Council - Because Our Children Are Watching. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. . ] [3: "Protecting Children from Harmful Television: TV Ratings and the V-chip." Parenthood in America. 15 Oct. 1998. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. . ] [4: "Protecting Children from Harmful Television: TV Ratings and the V-chip." Parenthood in America. 15 Oct. 1998. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. . ]

To further cement these facts and conclusively argue that children should be protected from sex and violence on TV and in movies, one need only to look at some examples in which children were exposed to such instances at a young age. One such example refers to the 2004 Super Bowl, which TV rating company Nielsen "estimates that 6.6 million kids 2-11 were watching at about the time that CBS's little halftime fiasco developed when Justin Timberlake ripped off a piece of Jackson's bodice, exposing her right breast to the nationwide audience. Another 7.3 million teens 12-17 were tuned in at that time as well."[footnoteRef:5] For these reasons, one should not throw caution to the wind and not care about children watching harmful television, but should rather make a point to protect children from these harmful effects for as long as possible, at least until they have reached an age at which they can truly understand how sex and violence affect society, and what is good and bad about these issues. [5: "Sex, Violence, and Profanity in the Media Fact Sheet, TV Statistics - Parents Television Council." Parents Television Council - Because Our Children Are Watching. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. . ]

The Internet makes it easier than ever before for teens to have personal lives independent of their parent's control, which can make teens quickly feel as if they are adults, even if they still have a child's impulsivity and lack of respect for consequences.

Townsend is not only concerned about hot-button issues like drugs and sexuality, however. Violence and aggression can easily be overlooked or normalized as just a phase and have equally negative consequences for the teen's development. Rude and violent teens become rude and violent adults. Townsend writes: "In addition to intervening directly when your teen is aggressive in your presence, you will also need to do as much prevention as possible and to set up workable consequences and helps for those times you find out about the aggressiveness" (Chapter 21). A lack of respect for parents, teachers, even peers, must not be tolerated and must be consistently…

Domestic violence poses serious mental and physical health risks. In fact, it is estimated that" more than 1.5 million women nationwide seek medical treatment for injuries related to abuse each year" (Stark, 2001, p. 347(Tomison, 2003)). Those who are abused can experience mental health issues, such as anxiety attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder, chronic depression, acute stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts and ideation (Tomison, 2003)."

Domestic violence in America comes with an annual $44 million price tag with more than 20,000 hospital stays and 40,000 doctor visits each year (Tomison, 2003).

One of the issues that literature has uncovered is a lack of services or resources for women who are the victim of abuse by their domestic partner.

Shelters and batterer's intervention programs are often geographically inaccessible and not community based (Asbury, 1987; Williams & Becker, 1994; Williams-Campbell, 1993). Inaccessible services are less likely to be used despite the need. Transportation…

References

Bent-Goodley, Tricia B.(2004) Perceptions of domestic violence: a dialogue with African-American women. Health and Social Work

Tomison, Adam M (2003)an analysis of current Australian program initiatives for children exposed to domestic violence. Australian Journal of Social Issues

Sharron M. (2005) Dating violence prevention in middle school and high school youth.

Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing

In contrast, TV influences children in abandoning the theories they were taught and embrace other concepts, most related to violence. Also, after being exposed to TV violence children feel that it is perfectly natural for them to behave similar to the characters on TV (Langone, 1984, p. 48).

It is extremely important for a child to be assisted by an adult when watching TV. Studies have shown that children are influenced by the way adults perceive TV programs, meaning that a child is likely to gain a better understanding of right and wrong when he or she is supported by a mature individual. Even with that, TV violence can negatively influence children, as they will merely hide their aggression in the cases when they are assisted by an adult who disapproves of violent behavior in watching TV (Langone, 1984, p. 56).

Children are generally willing to do anything in ordered…

Works cited:

1. Barker, M. & Petley, J. (2001). Ill Effects: The Media/Violence Debate. New York: Routledge.

2. Hoffman, A.M. (1996) Schools, Violence, and Society. Westport, CT: Praeger.

3. Josephson, W.L. (1995). "Television Violence: A Review of the Effects on Children of Different Ages." Retrieved August 16, 2010, from the Media Awareness Network Web site:  http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/research_documents/reports/violence/tv_violence_child.cfm 

4. Langone, J. (1984). Violence!: Our Fastest-Growing Public Health Problem. 1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown

Even some police still view the partner in domestic violence as "asking" for it in some way. In addition, even though laws in the United States and many other countries have become stiffer, there are still many countries around the world that subscribe to archaic and violent practices against women, often with the approval of their religion or beliefs.

The questions that remain unanswered about domestic violence and its long history are many. How has it been allowed to continue so long unchecked? How do men rationalize violence against family members they supposedly "love?" Why did it take until the 1960s and 70s in America to acknowledge there was a problem, and that men ruled the criminal justice system and the prevailing attitudes about domestic violence? Unfortunately, some of these attitudes still exist. Another writer notes, "The law and order movement has attained stringent warrantless arrest rules in the domestic…

References

Colker, R. (2006). Marriage mimicry: The law of domestic violence. William and Mary Law Review, 47(6), 1841+.

Goelman, D.M. (2004). Shelter from the storm: Using jurisdictional statutes to protect victims of domestic violence after the violence against women act of 2000. Columbia Journal of Gender and Law, 13(1), 101+.

Shipway, L. (2004). Domestic violence: A handbook for health professionals. New York: Routledge.

Domestic Violence on Children

Many people throughout the world have traditionally believed that women's natural roles were as mothers and wives and considered women to be better suited for childbearing and homemaking than for involvement in the public life of business or politics. This popular belief that women were somehow intellectually inferior to men, based in large part on religious authority, has led many societies throughout the world to limit women's education to learning domestic skills and relegating them to a second-class citizen status. By and large, the world has been run by well-educated, upper-class men who controlled most positions of employment and power in these societies and to a large extent continue to do so today. While the status of women today varies dramatically in different countries and, in some cases, among groups within the same country, such as ethnic groups or economic classes, women continue to experience the…

References

Bagley, C. (1992). Development of an adolescent stress scale for use of school counsellors. School Psychology International 13, 31-49.

Beitchman, J., Zucker, K., Hood, J., DaCosta, G., Ackaman, D. & Cassavia, E. (1992). A review of the long-term effects of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse and Neglect, 16, 101-118.

Belsky J. & Vondra J. (1989). Lessons from child abuse: The determinants of parenting. In D. Cicchetti & V. Carlson (Eds.), Child maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect (pp. 153-202). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Briere, J.N. (1992). Child Abuse Trauma. Theory and Treatment of the Lasting Effects. Newbury Park, CA:Sage.

This can be directly linked to the frustration-aggression theory. Writer Smith continues, "In this theory, frustration and aggression are linked in a cause and effect relationship. Frustration is the cause of aggression and aggression is the result of frustration" (Smith, 1999). The aggressive behavior may be passed down from parent to child. Studies also indicate that aggressive parenting often produces aggressive children who continue the behavior.

There is a need for reducing domestic violence. Using these theories, one way to reduce the behavior is to reduce the frustration of poverty and lack of education. This is a social condition that can change, and should change. By helping people change their circumstances, they can experience less frustration and more satisfaction. educing outside violent influences, such as games and parental behavior is important too, as is education violent partners how to manage their violent tendencies.

eferences

Smith, A.K. (1999) Theories of aggression.…

References

Smith, A.K. (1999) Theories of aggression. Retrieved from the Bryn Mawr College Web site:  http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro99/web3/Smith.html3  Aug. 2006.

Scaflik makes the claim that these types of tactics from networks mean that the network believe that violence is what attracts viewers the most.

Finally, shows such as Law and Order and Dark Shadows manage to show minimal amounts of violence and in inappropriate context, while they ultimately showcase the violence in a de-contextualized manner in the promos (Scaflik 2004). Scaflik points out that this is a serious problem for many different reasons, including the fact that viewers will get the wrong impression from the show and that viewers may also believe that there is a great deal of action and then will later be disappointed when only two or three minimally violent scenes are shown throughout the film or show.

The other problem is that violent promos are often times run during showtimes targeted towards children. Sometimes shows that have absolutely no violence in them at all will use…

References

Abelard, (1999-2008), Children and Television Violence, Retrieved from  http://www.abelard.org/tv/tv.php 

Cantor, Joanne, and Suzanne Stutman, Victoria Duran, (1996), What Parents Want in a Television Rating System: Results of a National Survey, National Survey Report, Retrieved from http://yourmindonmedia.com/downloads/parent_survey.pdf

Chandra, Anita, and DrPHa, Steven C. Martino, PhDb, Rebecca L. Collins, PhDc, Marc N. Elliott, PhDc, Sandra H. Berry, MAc, David E. Kanouse, PhDc, Angela Miu, MSc, (October 31, 2008). Does Watching Sex on Television Predict Teen Pregnancy? Findings From a National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. PEDIATRICS, Vol. 122 (No. 5). Retrieved from  http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/122/5/1047 

Moran, Mark, (July 6, 2007), Govt. Seeks Ways to Reduce Kids' Exposure to TV Violence. Psychiatric News, Vol. 42. (No. 13)(Pg. 5). Retrieved from  http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/content/42/13/5.1.full

A in millions)

Current in millions)

Provided by Federal ureau of Investigation as of September 18, 2006. www.whitehouse.gov/goodbye/3ae6b1ac94aa97e6650780f280890a7c81100e47.html"

CHART: National Correctional Populations

National Correctional Populations

The number of adults in correctional population has been increasing.

A in millions)

Current million in millions)

Provided by ureau of Justice Statistics as of November 30, 2006. (Social Statistics riefing Room, 2006)

More Statistics

Violence in the Media

Huston and colleagues have estimated that the average 18-year-old will have viewed 200,000 acts of violence on television (Huston, a.C., Donnerstein, E., Fairchild, H. et al. ig World, Small Screen: The Role of Television in American Society. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1992.)

41% percent of American households have three or more televisions (Nielsen Media Research, 2000).

56% of children ages 8-16 have a television in their rooms (Annenberg Public Policy Center, 2000. Media in the Home 2000)

Percentage of television-time children ages 2-7 spend…

Bibliography

Alter, Jonathan. "Moving Beyond the Blame Game. (Panel Discussion)," Newsweek, May 17, 1999.

Beyer, John. "PERSPECTIVE: How movie and TV violence hits children; Is there too much violence on television and is it time to curb it? John Beyer, director of the organization mediawatch-uk argues that media viol," Birmingham Post, March 21, 2007.

Chatfield, Joanne E.. "Influence of Media Violence on Children." American Family Physician, February 15, 2002.

Children's Hospital Boston. "Teen-Rated Video Games Loaded With Violence;

In light of the evidence in this literature review then it is of great import that monitoring of the health of pregnant women is vital in reference to LW infants not only in the sense of present terms but as well to lifelong health considerations for the LW infant which is probably why stated further is: "Given the relative neglect that mothers and newborns have suffered, their centrality to the Millennium Development Goals, and the cost-effectiveness of maternal and newborn health interventions, a greater emphasis on safe motherhood and newborn health is clearly needed within many health sectors." (JHPIEGO, 2003)

Literature Review

Stated in the publication "Shaping Policy for Maternal and Newborn Health: A Compendium of Case Studies (2003) is that: "The health of a newborn is inextricably linked to the health of the mother; the majority of newborn deaths are caused by the poor health of the mother during…

Bibliography

Krieger N. & Smith, G.(2004) Bodies County and body counts: Epidemiology and embodying inequality. Epidemiological Review Journal 200:26:92-103

Coker, AL et al. (2004) Partner Violence During Pregnancy and Risk of Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes. Pediatrics Perinatal Epidemiology 2004 Jul; 18 (4): 260-9. University of Texas School of Public Health.

Bohn, D.K. et al. (2004) Influences of Income, Education, Age, and Ethnicity on Physical Abuse before and During Pregnancy. Journal Obstetrics Gynecology Neonatal Nursing 2004 Sep-Oct; 33(5): 561-71.

Salihu, Boy a. (2004) Intimate Partner Violence and Birth Outcomes: A Systematic Review International Journal of Fertility Women's Medicine 2004 Jul-Aug; 49(4): 159-64. Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama.

Video Games and Violence

The level of integration of video games into the culture of the youth in the United States could not be clearer. One estimate stated that ninety-seven percent of twelve to seventeen-year-olds played a video game in 2008 (ESA, 2009). These figures suggest that virtually everyone in that specific demographic play video games. The economic result of the demand for video gaming has resulted in over an eleven billion dollar industry (2008) which is continually expanding (ProCon, N.d.). However, many of these games contain graphic violence and sexual content that deemed in appropriate for this demographic.

It is argued that this violence in the digital world can cause a host of negative implications in real life as well. hen children are exposed to violence then this can work to desensitize them to the use of violence and violence can even be perceived as an acceptable way to…

Works Cited

Anderson, C., Sakamoto, A., Gentile, D., Ihori, N., Shibuya, A., Yukawa, S., . . . Kobayashi, K. (2008). Longitudinal Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression in Japan and the United States. Pediatrics, 1067-1072.

ESA. (2009, May). Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry. Retrieved from Entertainment Software Association:  

Spousal and Child Abuse

Child and spousal abuse is an intentional act that results in physical and/or emotional or psychological injury on a child or spouse (or partner) by a parent or a mate, respectively (Gelles 2004). In a child, abuse more often takes the form of neglect. Child and spousal abuse and violence are major social concerns today.

The extent that children are abused by their parents or adult caretakers is difficult to measure, although it appears to occur most frequently among lower-income communities and certain ethnic and religious minorities. Abuse of children ranges from physical and emotional abuse and sexual abuse to physical and emotional neglect (Gelles). Effects of physical abuse are varied and visible: unexplained bruises, fractures and burn marks. Emotional abuse destroys the child's sense of security and self-esteem. Sexual abuse includes all acts that expose them to the sexual satisfaction of the parent or adult…

Bibliography

Boudreau, Diane. Damage: the Health Effects of Abuse. ASU Research: Arizona:

State University, 2002.  http://researchmag.asu.edu/stories/abuse.html  childabuse.org. Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse. For the Love of Our Children, 2002.  http://www.fortheloveofourchildren.org/statistics.html  childabuse.com. Why Child Abuse Occurs and the Common Criminal Background of the Abuser. Arctic Originals, 2002.  http://www.childabuse.com 

Gelles, Richard. Child Abuse. MSN Encarta. Microsoft Corporation. http://encarta.msn.com

Hopper, Jim. UChild AbuseU, 2004. http://www.jimhopper.com/abstats

As Dr. Johnson's testing and surveys have concluded, and provided statistical data in support of his conjectures; aggressive driving will lead to assault depending upon how the driver who triggers the road rager's emotional response responds to that aggressive behavior.

The DOT does acknowledge the need to address aggressive driving, and has strong recommendations concerning the penalties for the offense. The DOT makes recommendations in six areas with statutory strategies (Statutory Strategies, online):

1.

Strengthen existing statutes to include stricter penalties. epeat offenders should receive enhanced punishment, including increased points, loss of license, higher fines, and jail sentences or probation.

2. Establish comprehensive education programs that address aggressive driving and include them as part of legislative changes. At a minimum, include aggressive driving education in public and private driver education programs. States should also consider anger management education as a supplement to other sanctions when making legislative changes.

3. Develop…

Reference List

Larson, J. And Rodriguez, C., 1999, Road Rage to Road Wise, Tom Doherty Associates,

New York, NY.

ROARR, 2009, found online at http://roarrinc.bizopiaweb.com/Default.aspx?tabid=231442, retrieved 10 December 2009.

U.S. Department of Transportation (2009), National Aggressive Driving Action Guide: A

..There is reason for concern, therefore, when aggressive acts are presented in a humorous context in the media" (622).

Although it is intended to refer to society and its misdemeanor, satire cannot be considered to be offensive, since there is a small probability that it will produce any resentment in people. A good example of the American society giving birth to something that is funny and enjoyable, despite its satirical character, is Charlie Chaplin. In times when movies were something new to the American public, the English actor succeeded in making it addicted to him and to his movies. His merit is also largely owed to the scriptwriters and to the movie directors that invested hard work in making the respective movies. Even with his obvious success among the American public, there still are a number of critics believing that the characters played by Charlie Chaplin had been too vulgar…

Despite these compelling findings, many youth are not routinely assessed for such violence exposure and its ramifications by the educational, child welfare, social service, and juvenile justice systems with which they frequently interact." (2007) This exposure is not only related to outcomes of a negative nature as well as heightened drug use and greater HIV related risk behaviors." (Vioson, 2007) the work of McDowell (2006) entitled: "Caring for Child Victims: Countering the Effects of Domestic Violence" published in the Journal of Specialists in Pediatric Nursing states that children are affected by family violence and that holistic assessment by the nurse is "essential to understanding the stressor of domestic violence." (McDowell, 2006) it is important to understand that less than one-third of domestic violence cases are reported. This author specifically charges the pediatric nurse in having the knowledge and skills necessary to identify childhood trauma from having witnessed family abuse.

Summary…

Bibliography

Dalpaiz, C.M. (2006) Breaking Free, Starting Over: Parenting in the Aftermath of Family Violence. Family Therapy Journal Vol. 33 Issue 1 San Diego 2006.

Henry, M.; Szajnberg, N. (2006) My Life is a Longing: Child Abuse and its Adult Sequelae: Results of Brody Longitudinal Study from Birth to age 30" International Journal of Psychoanalysis. Vol. 87, Issue 2.

Hurley (2006) Internalized Other Interviewing of Children Exposed to Violence. Journal of Systematic Therapies. Summer 2006. Vol. 25. Guilford Publications, Inc.

Kaplow, J.B.; Saxe, G.N.; Putman, F.W.; Pynoos, R.S.; and Lieberman, a.F. (2006) the Long-Term Consequences of Early Childhood Trauma. A Case Study and Discussion. Psychiatry. New York Winter 2006. Vol. 69. Issue 4.

Children: Exposure to Violence Through the Media

The extent to which exposure to violence creates violent children and/or aggressive behavior is a subject which has been debated in a comprehensive manner. However, the fundamental research findings are consistent. The research continues to demonstrate that exposure to violence creates negative manifestations in the behavior of children. "While violence is not new to the human race, it is an increasing problem in modern society. With greater access to firearms and explosives, the scope and efficiency of violent behavior has had serious consequences. We need only look at the recent school shootings and the escalating rate of youth homicides among urban adolescents to appreciate the extent of this ominous trend" (Beresin, 2010). Given the fact that children are manifesting violent behavior in more and more disturbing ways, making places like schools -- previously dens of safety -- into places where children feel unsafe…

References

Beresin, V .E. (2010). The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions. This article examines the biophysiological impact of violent images on children and how those exact dynamics work. Retrieved march 25, 2013 from  http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/developmentor/the_impact_of_media_violence_on_children_and_adolescents_opportunities_for_clinical_interventions 

Grayson-Mathis, C.E. (2005, June 10). Media violence may affect children's minds.

Offers a thorough appraisal on how violent media images impact the minds of children using relevant literature to support the case.

Retrieved from  http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20050610/media-violence-may-affect-childrens-minds

It said that most parents would support new limits to be established on content of television programs and shows. Approximately half of the surveyed parents and their peers expressed concern that their own children saw what they saw on TV. More lack and Hispanic parents expressed this concern than did white parents. More than three-fourths of them said that inappropriate television and media material worried them the most. Two-thirds of them said they closely watched TV shows their children watched. Those who said they could not do very much said that the exposure had gone too widespread to be controlled or that they were too busy. The Kaiser study also reported that one in four of the parents surveyed admitted that the media were the main negative influence on their children. The rest said it had positive influence and the rest said it had little impact. Four in the 10…

Bibliography

Better Nutrition (2002). TV Bashed. 2 pages. PRIMEDIA Intertec: PRIMEDIA Company

Bower, B. (1985). Social Channels Tune in TV's Effects. 2 pages. Science News: Social Science Service, Inc.

Etzioni, a. (1993). Lock Up Your TV Set: Violence on Television. 4 pages. National Review: National Review, Inc.

Fram, a. (2007).Most Parents Concerned About Violence in Media. 2 pages. Oakland Tribune: ANG Newspapers

damaging aspects of domestic violence, its effect on the children who witness it, is also one of least studied. Most children whose parents are involved in domestic violence witness that violence. Furthermore, these children experience behavioral and emotional problems as a result of this exposure. Despite these facts, the development of intervention programs aimed at helping children who have witnessed domestic violence is fairly recent. One of the issues surrounding intervention is whether children's intervention programs should include the non-offending parent. The existing literature does little to answer that question, because some studies have found that conjoint intervention is helpful, while other studies have failed to support those findings. To resolve the issue, Sullivan, Egan, and Gooch (2004) studied the effect of conjoint interventions on adult and child victims of domestic violence.

In order to study the effect of conjoint interventions, Sullivan, et al. (2004) followed a nine-week group intervention…

References

Sullivan, M., M. Egan, & M. Gooch. (2004). Conjoint interventions for adult victims and children of domestic violence: a program evaluation. Research on Social Work Practice,

14(3), 163-170.

Matters appear to be even worse for those who are in need for protection and shelter as a consequence of psychological or physical abuse at home since statistics also indicate that the percentages of those who are denied shelter are slightly increasing every year in Texas. If there were 16% of those who asked for shelter who were denied in 2001 in Texas "due to lack of space"(Texas HHSC, 2008), according to the same report, 22.63 were denied due to the same reason in 2008.

The ATP in Webster Texas does not only offer temporary shelter for women and children, but it also involves their residents in educational programs that help them rebuild their self-esteem and learn the basic principles necessary for them to change their lives and start all over again. The organization also offers "a weekly confidential self-help support group for victims / survivors of Domestic Violence and/or…

Bay Area Turning Point, Inc. Retrieved: Oct, 7, 2009. Available at:

http://www.bayareaturningpoint.com/upcoming_events.htm

2008 Family Violence Program Statistics. Texas Council on Family Violence. 2009. Retrieved: Oct 7, 2009. Available at:  http://www.tcfv.org/

(1999) formed the basis of the survey. (Vermeiren et al.)

The study found that that the older age groups and those who had previously experienced abuse were more prone to suicide as a result of the exposure to violence. In essence, the study also found in this sample of communities that exposure to violence in European inner cities is frequently experienced. Furthermore the findings.".. demonstrate that suicidal risk is increased in youths exposed to community violence, and that this risk gradually increases with the level of exposure" (Vermeiren et al.).

Another important finding is that, as was hypothesized from the literature, there is a marked and significant difference in relation to gender. Suicidal ideation was reported by 15.3% of girls and 9.5% of boys..." (Vermeiren et al.).

The authors underline the importance of this area of research in that suicide is one of the major health risks among adolescent youth.…

Works Cited www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000845647

Vermeiren, Robert, et al. "Exposure to Violence and Suicide Risk in Adolescents: A Community Study." Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 30.5 (2002): 529+.

'" (Moynihan, 1965)

Moynihan implies that the decreasing role of the black male is a central aspect to be addressed in resolving the matters of violence in the black communities. As a result, he proposes a series of social and political policies that would strengthen the role played by the black male in the family. These refer to better employment opportunities, wage increases or an improved social perception of the roles that fathers play within the family. The senator exemplifies by stating that the white families are mostly run by two parents and the presence and role of both mother and father foster the growth and development of a stable individual, who will not engage in criminal actions.

4. Conclusions

The report issued by Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan set the basis for years of controversy. Organized under the title the Negro Family: The Case for National Action, the findings were…

References

DuRant, R.H., Pendergats, R.A., Stevens, G., Linder, C.W., April 1994, Factors Associated with the Use of Violence among Urban Black Adolescents, American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 84, No. 6, pp. 612-617

Hall, J.D., August 2, 1993, Big Shots: A Boy and His Gun, Time Magazine, pp. 21-29

Moynihan, D.P., March 1965, the Moynihan Report - the Negro Family: The Case for National Action, Office of Policy Planning and Research, United States Department of Labor

April 1994, Reducing Violence - How do we Proceed? American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 84. No. 4, pp.539-540

This behavior was observed in more than eighty eight percent of the children. In order to show that learned behavior is not necessarily short-term, when the children were reintroduced to obo a few months later, 40% showed the violent behavior.

In assessing whether watching excessive violence on television causes long terms aggressive behavior, research studies should be more comprehensive. They should take into account factors such as chemical or neurological imbalances, family history of violence, emotional and physical abuse or genetic factors. Whether it is indisputably proven that watching violence on television causes aggressive behavior or whether it isn't, one should realize that over indulgence is never a good thing. They can have physical, emotional and sociologically negative impacts.

Parents have an important role to play. Instead of relying on federal guidelines for television program ratings, parents should make up their own minds about whether a child should watch a…

Bibliography

Bandura, a. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

Funk, J.B. (1993). Reevaluating the Impact of Video Games. Clinical Pediatrics, 32(2), 86-90.

Siegel, L.J. (2003). Criminology (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

WHAT FUTUE HOLDS

With such an amplified legal awareness, our country is and will continue to project the emblem of conscious and the fairest legal security system offered to the people of America and the rest of the world. As for the pro-abortion groups, to say that the Unborn Victim Act is "analytically incoherent," or "a deceptive scheme" designed to erode the "right to choose" is a downright perverse idea. In fact, this appears to be an excuse of protecting the "right to choose" as a mere tool for expanding it far beyond lawful limitations. And it simply implies denial of the right to protect what the Supreme Court pronounces "the potentiality of life." Many people celebrate the announcement of this bill as a bold step towards fair play and justice and believe that it answers the prayers of a million Shewonas and Lacis whose families have suffered and struggled…

Reference:

Lopez and Kathryn Jean, (2003), Conner on our minds -- and in our laws, Human Life Review. Spring.

Congressman Joseph R. Pitts, April 24, 2003, Protecting Conner and Heaven, www.house.gov

Roger Banks, June 11, 2001, Unborn victims of violence act now in senate, Human Events.

In many states, assaults on pregnant women are treated as assaults on their unborn children as well, April 19, 2005, National Review.

In album after album, women are referred to as *****es, hoes, gold diggers, and chickenheads, and this representation of women as sexual objects for men's use is a common trope within this genre (Crossley 2005). The sex act is openly portrayed as being about the body and the availability of the body, and the use of neuter pronouns heightens its alleged objectivity and divorces it from personal significance (Crossley 2005). For example, lyrics in Snoop Dogg's "Bring it on," include, "I'm qualified to knock a hoe, "Got it cracking with my hoe" (Crossley 2005).

Gangsta rap music is essentially the vocalization of sentiments that have lived long within the political environment of the African-American community. To feel empowered, African-American males attempt to keep women subordinate.

orks Cited

Cheney, Charise. (2005 June 22). In search of the "revolutionary generation":

en) gendering the golden age of rap nationalism. The Journal of African-American…

Works Cited

Cheney, Charise. (2005 June 22). In search of the "revolutionary generation":

en) gendering the golden age of rap nationalism. The Journal of African-American History. Retrieved December 17, 2006 from HighBeam Research Library.

Crossley, Scott. (2005 December 22). Metaphorical conceptions in hip-hop music.

African-American Review. Retrieved December 17, 2006 from HighBeam

Yet, one should take into account a cetain pat of the statement, egading the status of the victims. The expession "low net woth people" must not, by any chance and even if it's the case of citing an authoity, appea in an aticle. No matte the status and the position of a peson in the society's hieachy, life is the most valuable good one has and has the same impotance fo all pees.

In geneal, the aticle can eceive a positive eview. It is objective and the case is clealy exposed, it does not contain ielevant pieces of infomation and it does not insist on mino details. The lack of desciption fo potagonists leads to ceating no peconceptions. Futhemoe, media does not oughly exploit the stoy. One can not assume thee is sensitiveness in naating the case, but as mentioned befoe, the aticle elies on objectiveness. Howeve, the only aspect…

references for including some details and avoiding others is what leads to misperceptions and created social attitudes towards a case or a category of people.

Moreover, this type of approach emphasizes not the violent act that has occurred and whose victim was a helpless, undefended woman, but the image of a woman offering sex in exchange of a home. One should ask, first of all, what were the reasons of the respective woman that made her resort to such a solution. The same case, with the same protagonists can be analyzed from different perspectives and the guilty person would appear differently, in accord to what is mentioned about her and what is avoided.

In terms of cited source, the article uses statements from people involved in the community and local service, which one can consider a positive aspect, as people who can share from their day-to-day experience from a community are not only interested in talking, but can offer important information both for the media and for the local inhabitants.

As a conclusion, the article offers the exact model of a case which emphasizes not the offence itself, but the character's background, managing to place the responsibility almost exclusively on the victim. Moreover, details about the aggressor are not even mentioned. The only statement regarding consists in reminding the existence of a precedent in these type of cases, a robber and a killer who used to find his victims through advertisements.

What one must know is that, in contrast to this article, crimes that occur must be analyzed from all points-of-view and one must look for the context as a whole. Not the fact the above-mentioned woman rejoined the advertisement is relevant for the case, but the reasons which stood behind her choice. Only by finding correlations among all factors, one can contribute to the improvement of crimes' statistics, as he can learn how to prevent.

Maltreated Children

The role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children

Caspi, Avshalom, Joseph McClay, Terrie E. Moffitt, Jonathan Mill, Judy Martin, Ian W. Craig,

Alan Taylor & Richie Poulton. (2002). The role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children. Science, 297: 851-853.

The study "the role of genotype in the cycle of violence in maltreated children" (Caspi et al. 2002) addresses a commonly-observed phenomenon seen in anecdotal experience. Although maltreatment in childhood may seem to predispose some adolescents to act out later in life, not all maltreated children engage in delinquent or criminal behavior. "Maltreatment increases the risk of later criminality by about 50%" (Caspi et al. 2002: 851). The study proposes that certain genetic markers predispose individuals towards criminality while other acted as a buffer against antisocial behavior. "Individual differences at a functional polymorphism in the promoter of the monoamine oxidase A…

But the mechanism of MAOA is more complex than simply causing aggression when there is a deficit of the chemical. Stress itself, not simply genetics, can cause abnormalities in MAOA's impact upon human development. "Maltreatment stress (e.g., maternal deprivation, peer rearing) in early life alters NE, 5-HT, and DA neurotransmitter systems in ways that can persist into adulthood and can influence aggressive behaviors" (Caspi et al. 2002: 851). In other words, while some children may have a natural genetic deficit of MAOA, the brain is not a static entity. With the 'right' (or rather the wrong influences), the anxiety and other maladaptive coping behaviors and aggression characteristic of someone with low levels of MAOA can become manifest in a child who might otherwise have developed more normally, if that child is mistreated.

This study is an illuminating look upon the 'nature vs. nurture' and 'environment vs. genetics debate.' Neither factor can be said to conclusively cause complex behaviors like aggression. Some children are born predisposed to act aggressively and might behave in such a manner, even when treated in a relatively benign fashion by their peers, teachers, and parents. Other children might have such a low amount of MAOA, even in a nurturing and supportive environment they might still have behavior problems. For others, factors in the environment can exacerbate an existing deficit or even cause one, depending on the levels of stress the child was subjected to on a consistent basis.

Levels of MAOA are only one possible piece of the puzzle of better understanding asocial behaviors. Asocial behavior and maltreatment can also be rather subjective to measure: "Antisocial behavior is a complicated phenotype, and each method and data source used to measure it... is characterized by different strengths and limitations" (Caspi et al. 2002: 851). However, even given these limits, the study's findings that 85% of males with a low MAOA genotype who were maltreated engaged in antisocial activities supports the hypothesis that deficits in MAOA can account for different responses to environmental stressors.

Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Neglect

Child abuse is normally characterized in physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. Physical abuse is the non-accidental injury of a child. Sexual abuse entails any act of sex upon or with a child for the perpetrator's sexual gratification (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 2011). Emotional abuse entails engaging in chronic acts that interfere with a child's psycho-social health.

A classroom teacher can easily identify a child who has been abused or neglected because signs of abuse are observable in a classroom setting. Teachers also easily identify these children because of the significant time they spend with them (Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, 2011). The teachers can be sensitive to the chronic occurrence of the signals or sudden changes in a child's behavior which would point to a shift in this child's family environment. The frequency of repetition of these…

References

Besharov, D. (1990). Recognizing Child Abuse. New York: The Free Press.

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (2011). Child Abuse and Neglect: Reference for Educators. Retrieved November 7, 2013 from  http://www.odjfs.state.oh.us/forms/file.asp?id=398&type=application/pdf

killing of a child in real life has no symbolic meaning, no power other than that of an expression of evil and is, therefore, one of the worst acts a human, let alone a parent, can commit. In literature, however, the killing of children is symbolic of a diseased mind or of a diseased culture. Euripides' Medea kills her children, but she is a symbol of Mother Earth, of the Gods, and of nature all of which can exert, with no warning and no necessity of explanation, a death upon any or all of us. That which we are given can be taken away. The killing of a child in literature is, in some contexts, a symbolic reminder of the seeming arbitrariness of nature. While some critics interpret Medea as being a proactive population reducer, she can be rightly understood as a sick woman who, like the animals that eat…

Bibliography

Mark, David and Dubowitz, Howard. "Fathers and Child Neglect." AMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association. May 17, 2000 v283 i19 p2505. Online. Internet. CD-ROM Database: Infotrac.

Mark and Dubowitz provide a keen insight into the role of fathers as the primary source of child abuse through neglect. The authors observe that the majority of single-parent homes are run by women because the father/husband has abandoned his duties. As abandonment is a key factor in analysis of Medea's motivations for murdering her children, this article provides modern examples of Jason's behaviors.

Crimmins, Susan; Langley, Sandra; Brownstein, Henry; Spunt, Barry. "Convicted women who have killed children: A Self-Psychology Perspective." Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Feb, 1997. v12. n1. p49(21). Online. Internet. CD-ROM Database: Infotrac.

The authors of this study found a prevalence of damaged psyches and significant mental problems in women convicted of killing their children. The extent that these self-damage indicators interfered with the women's ability to parent children is discussed. Links between these self-damage experiences and the homicide and explored.