YOUTH AND ADULT PERSPECTIVES ON VIOLENCE PREVENTION STRATEGIES: A COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY STUDY

This project explores the beliefs and perspectives of urban adults and youth regarding community violence prevention strategies and identifies points of overlap and differences of opinion that can contribute to the development of successful youth violence prevention programs. We coded transcript data from adults and 1016-year-old youth from the same community. Research team members, including a community member research partner, created coding terms for theme development and summary statements. Adult and youth responses centered around three distinct themes: activities for youth, barriers to youth participation in activities, and ideal violence prevention strategies. When discussing community violence prevention strategies, adults and youth agreed on the importance of adult supervision, the need to improve safe transit to and egress from common sites of youth activities, and removing trash from the community. Healthcare and social service providers should take these methods and findings into consideration when counseling patients or clients.