Violence
is the "threatened or actual use of
physical force or power against another
person, against oneself, or against a
group or community, that either results
in or has a high likelihood of resulting
in injury, death, or deprivation."1
-
In the
United States, injuries are the
leading cause of death and disability
for people aged 1 to 34 years.2
-
Approximately 84% of all deaths among
adolescents aged 10-24 years are
attributed to injuries from only four
causes: motor vehicle crashes (37%),
all other unintentional injuries
(16%), homicide (18%), and suicide
(13%).2
Highly associated with these injuries
are adolescent behaviors such as
physical fights, carrying weapons,
making a suicide plan, and not using
seatbelts.
-
In 2005,
36% of high school students had been
in a physical fight in the past 12
months, 19% had carried a weapon in
the past 30 days, 13% had made a plan
about how they would attempt suicide
in the past 12 months, and 10% never
or rarely wore a seat belt when riding
in a car.3
-
An estimated 302,100 women and 92,700
men are forcibly raped each year in
the United States. More than half
(54%) of the female rape victims were
less than 18 years of age, and 22%
were less than 12 years of age when
they were first raped.4
This
information is from the CDC Healthy
Youth! Adolescent Health Website.
References:
1.
Foege WH, Rosenberg ML, Mercy JA. Public
health and violence prevention.
Current Issues in Public Health
1995;1:2–9.
2.
Minino AM, Anderson RN, Fingerhut LA,
Boudreault MA, Warner M. Deaths:
Injuries, 2002.
National Vital Statistics Reports;
54(10): 1-125.
3.
CDC.
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United
States, 2005 [pdf 300K].
Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report
2006;55(SS-5):1–108. Accessed June 8,
2006.
4.
Tjaden P, Thoennes N. Full report of the
prevalence, incidence, and consequences
of violence against women: Findings from
the National Violence Against Women
Survey. Report for grant 93-IJ-CX-0012,
funded by the National Institute of
Justice and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. Washington (DC):
National Institute of Justice; 2000.
