violence against children WORLD REPORT ON - CRIN

318Violence against children in the communityWith these lessons in mind, the following sectiondiscusses strategies for preventing violenceagainst children in community settings at fourlevels of the ecological model, namely the individual,family, community and society.Individual and family-levelConsistent with evidence that a significantproportion of adolescent violence is causallyrooted in early developmental experiences,programmes targeted at infants and youngchildren, their parents and others who influencethem during early development have beenshown to be among the most effective in preventingviolence by and among adolescents.More specifically, family-oriented interventionsto change parenting styles (increase predictability,parental monitoring, and decreasenegative parenting methods) and improve relationshipswithin the family (closeness, positivestatements, emotional cohesion and communicationclarity) show strong and consistent evidencefor reducing the risk of children goingon to engage in serious antisocial behaviourand violence. 184 The earlier these programmesare delivered in a child’s life, the greater thebenefits, although significant benefits havealso been demonstrated when programmesare delivered to adolescents who have alreadybeen arrested for violent or delinquent behaviour.185,186 (Also see the chapter on violenceagainst children in the home and family.)Community-levelCommunity-level support foreducation and socialisationMany individual and family-level interventionsare provided in community settings oruse community resources. The following areinterventions which have either proven effectivein some settings, or are thought to havea strong potential in preventing violence bysupporting high-risk children’s education andsocialisation.Reducing truancy and returningdropouts to schoolSchooling provides most children with theirsecond most important source of socialisation(after the family). Research suggests that oneof the most effective means of preventing violenceand crime among certain high-risk childrenis to provide incentives for them to completeschooling, obtain vocational trainingand pursue higher education. Comparisonsof different interventions to reduce youth violenceand crime in the USA have consistentlyfound that providing high school studentswith incentives to graduate was the most costeffectiveintervention. 187,188Programmes in schools are an important strategy,both for divesting schools themselves ofgang culture and interpersonal violence, andalso for preventing violence among youngpeople in the community. In the Caribbean,a nine-country study by the Pan-AmericanHealth Orgsanization (PAHO/WHO) foundthat truancy was one of the strongest risk factorsfor the involvement of young people aged