The preponderance of violence in schools across the United States has been receiving much attention recently. With about half of all student reporting being exposed to some type of violence at school, that being the victim or the perpetrator, there is obvious reason that there is much concern about the issue of youth violence in schools. Recent research has also shown that of these students, about 12% have reported being involved in a physical altercation and about one fifth have reported being bullied on school property. (Staecker, E., Puett, E., Afrassiab, S., Ketcherside, M., Azim, S., Wang, A., & … Cox, C. 2015).
Acts of aggression by juvenile offenders, including violent activity, are a major source of psychiatric and economic burden among victims, and witnesses, the perpetrators themselves, and society more broadly. Approximately 1.3 million youth were arrested in 2012 and this includes 61,070 for violent crime. Studies have shown that youth who are exposed to violence are found to have a disruption in their typical developmental trajectories through various biopsychosocial pathways, with adverse outcomes including increased depression and anxiety, greater displays of aggression and other externalizing problems and poorer academic functioning. (Kendall, A. D., Emerson, E. M., Hartmann, W. E., Zinbarg, R. E., & Donenberg, G. R. 2017)
There are many programs that address youth violence but Project Magic is currently standing out with its focus on developmental assets. The program is an innovative, award-winning program for juvenile offenders and their families. Are developmental assets crucial to changing the trend that we are currently seeing in juveniles? A review of several different models of reducing juvenile violence will be reviewed to determine the efficacy of these claims across paradigms.Research done by the Search Institute indicates that developmental assets reduce negative behaviors and increase positive behaviors in youth. They have designed a program called Magic (Making A Group & Individual Commitment) that focuses on these assets and has been proven to improve outcomes in juveniles.
127 our experts are availableright now
The assets include internal and external assets. External assets would be considered those that center around positive experiences from the people and experiences in a young person’s life. Internal assets would be those that focus on individual qualities that help to guide positive choices and develop a sense of confidence, passion, and purpose. There are sub categories that consist of things like: support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations, constructive use of time, commitment to learning, positive values, positive identity. (MAGIC Overview (Making A Group & Individual Commitment), 2005)
Theoretical support for the approach to prevention and intervention used within MAGIC is grounded in literature surrounding adolescent development and delinquency, family studies, and community systems. Ultimately, an ecological prevention and intervention program model was developed. The goal of the design was to enhance developmental assets in youth at a variety of levels (i.e., individual, family, school, and community) in order to reduce negative behavior and encourage positive development. (MAGIC Overview (Making A Group & Individual Commitment), 2005)
