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Crime, HIV and Health: Intersections of Criminal Justice and Public Health Concerns pp 225–237Cite as

Youth Violence Prevention: Public Health Intervention and High Risk Populations

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Abstract

This chapter describes a public health approach to preventing youth violence in high-risk populations. The discussion uses two case studies to illustrate the potential impact of public health interventions on reducing delinquency among a population of youth in Southern California. It reviews evaluation data from two community-based studies conducted by the Southern California Academic Center of Excellence on Youth Violence Prevention at the University of California at Riverside, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The first study is an implementation of the Families and Schools Together intervention in Santa Ana, California, and the second is the Arlanza Neighborhood Initiative in Riverside, California. In addition to highlighting evaluation results, the chapter reviews the need for public health intervention across the life course, including long term assessment, the importance of family, school, and community outcomes, tailoring interventions to specific individuals and communities, and assessing effectiveness among subgroups.

The findings and conclusions of this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Support for this chapter was provided by the Southern California Academic Center of Excellence on Youth Violence Prevention at the University of California, Riverside and funded by a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (#5U49CE00073). Please send all inquires to: Tanya Nieri, Ph.D., Sociology, University of California, Riverside, 1216 Watkins Hall, Riverside, CA 92521, (951) 827-5854 (office) (951) 827-3330 (fax) tanyan@ucr.edu

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of California at Riverside (UCR), Riverside, CA, USA

    Tanya Nieri Ph.D.

  2. Division of Violence Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Jennifer L. Matjasko Ph.D.

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Kirk R. Williams

  4. Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

    Nancy G. Guerra Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Tanya Nieri Ph.D.
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  2. Jennifer L. Matjasko Ph.D.
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  3. Kirk R. Williams
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  4. Nancy G. Guerra Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tanya Nieri Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminal Justice &, Criminalistics, California State University, Los Angeles, State University Drive 5151, Los Angeles, 90032, California, USA

    Bill Sanders

  2. , Howard University, Office of Regulatory Research Compliance, 7th Street 1840, Washington, 20001, District of Columbia, USA

    Yonette F. Thomas

  3. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Div. Epidemiology, Services &, National Institutes of Health, Executive Blvd. 6001, Bethesda, 20892-9589, Maryland, USA

    Bethany Griffin Deeds

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Nieri, T., Matjasko, J.L., Williams, K.R., Guerra, N.G. (2013). Youth Violence Prevention: Public Health Intervention and High Risk Populations. In: Sanders, B., Thomas, Y., Griffin Deeds, B. (eds) Crime, HIV and Health: Intersections of Criminal Justice and Public Health Concerns. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8921-2_12

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