James Garbarino, PhD introduces an article in the  January 2001 issue of Archives Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine

Violent Children: Where Do We Point the Finger of Blame?

When asked, "what causes violence among children and adolescents?" I respond, "there is no cause, only the accumulation of risk factors."1 This means that no single factor does much to tell the story. Rather, each adds to the cumulative risk. This model is an important derivation of the "ecological" perspective on human development. From such an ecological perspective, when the question is "does X cause Y?" the best answer is "it depends." It depends on the context in which that X and Y are operating.

Does inherited temperament play a role in promoting the development of aggressive behavior in children and youth? Developmental research reveals that kids with neurological damage do become more likely to develop a pattern of violence in adolescence if they are in dysfunctional families and communities, but not if they are in well-functioning families and communities (where they are no more likely than biologically normal children to become violent). It depends.

Are kids who develop a childhood pattern of aggression, acting out, and violating the rights of others (and thus would be diagnosed as demonstrating "conduct disorder") likely to become serious violent delinquents in adolescence? Research reveals that while overall 30% do, in some neighborhoods the figure is much lower while in others it is much higher (varying by a factor of 3-4).² It depends.

The Search Institute's study of "developmental assets" (See on this site CYC-ONLINE article on Assets) reveals that among asset-rich children the rate of violence is low while among asset-poor children the rate is high (for information, contact the Search Institute 1-800-888-7828). Assets are found throughout the social ecology of the child, family, school, neighborhood, and community. The rate of demonstrating significant violence is 6% for kids with 31 to 40 assets bracket, 16% for those with 21 to 30, 35% for those with 11 to 20, and 61% for those with 0 to 10. Risk and opportunity accumulate. Will kids behave aggressively? It depends.

This accumulation-of-risk model is essential if we are to understand where televised violence fits into the learning and demonstration of aggressive behavior. The American Psychological Association³ reviewed the evidence and concluded that television violence accounts for about 10% of kids' aggressive behavior. Is that a big effect? It is about as big an effect as the link between smoking and cancer. Most people who smoke don't get cancer. Most children who watch television do not act violently. My mother is 75 and has been smoking for 60 years. She is healthier than the proverbial horse, but even she acknowledges that smoking is bad for people's health (it just doesn't apply to her). It's about time the television and motion picture industries get on the same wavelength as my mother.

The accumulation-of-risk model offers a framework for interpreting the significance of the work of Tom Robinson and his colleagues⁴ at Stanford University in California. Their study "Effects of Reducing Children's Television and Video Game Use on Aggressive Behavior: A Randomized Controlled Trial" documents the ability of their television reduction program to reduce aggressive behavior. It works on one of the elements in the risk accumulation process that leads to youth violence. Other efforts play a similar role, e.g., my own modest effort aimed at elementary school-aged children entitled "Let's Talk About Living in a World With Violence."⁵ This is a significant component in putting together a patchwork quilt of violence prevention.

Part of what I do as a professional is talk with kids in prison or on trial for their violent acts (this work is reported in my book Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them¹). I have found the accumulation-of-risk and opportunity model essential in understanding their lives and in communicating their developmental stories to professionals, the media, and juries.

At a recent public forum the moderator turned to me and asked, "When it comes to making children violent, who is to blame?" I responded: "Blaming is not the issue. Blaming makes the blamer feel righteous and the blamed feel ashamed. Neither is productive in solving social problems." But if the goal is to point a finger at those "responsible" for violent children, then we must start with the understanding that it will take a whole handful of fingers and then some, and that all of us should always save one finger for ourselves. This too is a derivative of the accumulation-of-risk and opportunity model in particular and the ecological perspective in general. It tells us that there are many contributors to the development of a pattern of violent behavior.

The essential step for progress to occur is for each actor and factor to be willing to turn the finger inward and acknowledge its or his and her contribution. Television, video games, movies, guns, child maltreatment, unresponsive schools, inadequate mental health services, spiritual emptiness, psychoactive substances, economic inequality; is there anyone among us without responsibility? I think not. Now it is up to us all to ensure that this acceptance of shared responsibility becomes the starting point for collaborative action, not another round of fruitless pointing of the fingers of blame.

1. Garbarino J. Lost Boys: Why Our Sons Turn Violent and How We Can Save Them. New York, NY: The Free Press; 1999.

2. Mednick S, Kandel E. Genetic and perinatal factors in violence. In: Mednick S, Moffit T, eds. Biological Contributions to Crime Causation. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff; 1998:121-134.

3. American Psychological Association. Summary Report of the APA Commission on Violence and Youth: Violence and Youth: Psychology's Response. Washington, DC: The American Psychological Association; 1993.

4. Robinson TN, Wilde ML, Navracruz LC, Haydel KF, Varady A. Effects of reducing children's television and video game use on aggressive behavior: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155:17-23. 

5. Garbarino J. Let's Talk About Living in a World With Violence. Chicago, Ill: The Erikson Institute; 1993.