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Federal Resources
Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere
A national initiative to prevent youth violence before it starts. STRYVE's vision is safe and healthy youth who can achieve their full potential as connected and contributing members of thriving, violence-free families, schools, and communities. Their website includes training materials focused on understanding youth violence, the public health approach, and creating a plan along with a wealth of other resources and information.
Violence-Related Firearm Deaths Among Residents of Metropolitan Areas and Cities - United States, 2006-2007.
Data from CDC's National Vital Statistics System for 2006 and 2007 show that rates of firearm homicide were generally higher among residents of the nation's largest metropolitan areas than for the U.S. overall, with rates for central cities often among the highest. Rates of firearm homicide among youth 10-19 years old often exceeded rates for residents of all ages in these areas. In contrast, firearm suicides often occurred at lower rates among residents in the nation's largest metropolitan areas and central cities than for the nation overall. There are a number of effective strategies for prevention, which include programs that enhance youth skills and motivation to behave nonviolently and resolve conflicts peacefully; promote positive relationships between youth and adults; and influence the social, environmental, and economic characteristics of neighborhoods in ways that could be implemented more broadly in U.S. cities to reduce the likelihood of youth violence.
Understanding EVIDENCE
This website offers public health practitioners, as well as CDC grantees, researchers, program evaluators, technical assistance providers, and other decision-makers, resources for making evidenced-informed decisions around youth violence prevention. The free, interactive training modules, case studies, and other resources on the site can help users define the multiple forms of evidence, identify standards of rigor, explore ways to collect evidence, and understand key stages of evidence-based decision making.
Youth Violence Protective Factors
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control convened a panel of experts in the fields of youth development, violence prevention, and analytic methods to discuss protective influences against youth violence and how these can shape prevention efforts. Work from this panel is featured in a special supplement of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine titled, “Protective Factors for Youth Violence Perpetration Issues, Evidence, and Public Health Implications."
Prevalence of Sexual Violence Against Children and Use of Social Services — Seven Countries, 2007-2013
As a member of the global public-private partnership Together for Girls, CDC collaborated with Cambodia, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe to conduct national household surveys of children and youth, ages 13–24, to measure the extent of violence against children. The lifetime prevalence of experiencing any form of sexual violence in childhood ranged from 4.4% among females in Cambodia to 37.6% among females in Swaziland, with prevalence in most countries greater than 25%. In most countries surveyed, the proportion of survivors who received services, including health and child protective services, was ≤10.0%.
Second National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence
Children’s Exposure to Violence, Crime, and Abuse: An Update (PDF, 16 pages) presents findings from the second National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV II), conducted in 2011. NatSCEV II gathered data about exposure to violence among a new group of 4,500 children and youth, and added new categories of crime and victimization. Findings from the NatSCEV II show that 60% of young people were exposed to violence in the past year, and more than one in 10 reported five or more exposures.
Report: School-Level Practices to Increase Availability of Fruits, Vegetables, and Whole Grains, and Reduce Sodium in School Meals — United States, 2000, 2006, and 2014
CDC researchers analyzed school-level implementation of the Department of Agriculture’s school nutrition standards, specifically on practices related to fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and sodium. Results show almost all schools offer whole grain foods, vegetables, and fruits during the school day, and the percentage of schools making efforts to increase the availability of these foods and decrease sodium increased from 2000 to 2014.
Resource: Healthy Schools Website
CDC’s School Health Branch launched the Healthy Schools website. The site will serve as the main resource for information on school-based physical activity and management of chronic conditions. It also contains information on school health guidelines, local school wellness policy, and related resources and tools.
Report: 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study
CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health released the 2014 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS). SHPPS is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. Two additional resources accompany the report: 2014 Overview (PDF 4 pages) and Trends Over Time: 2000-2014 (PDF, 6 pages).
Resource: Essentials for Childhood Framework: Steps to Create Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships and Environments for All Children
This framework proposes strategies communities can use to promote children and families’ positive development and to prevent child abuse and neglect. It includes four goal areas and suggested steps based on best available evidence to achieve each goal.
Resource: STOP SV: A Technical Package to Prevent Sexual Violence
This technical package (PDF, 48 pages) provides strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states prioritize the prevention activities with the greatest potential to reduce sexual violence and its consequences. This accompanying infographic highlights statistics related to sexual violence as well as the prevention strategies found in the technical package.
Resource: Zika Guidance for Schools
This interim guidance addresses concerns about the risk for Zika virus infections in schools, provides recommendations for prevention measures schools can take to reduce the potential risk for Zika transmission on school premises and among students, and shares information on responding to a confirmed case of Zika virus.
Resource: INSPIRE — Seven Strategies for Ending Violence Against Children
This evidence-based technical package (PDF, 108 pages) contains solutions to help countries and communities prevent and respond to violence against children and adolescents.
Resource: Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (STRYVE)
This web app provides information and space for practitioners and teams to develop and edit customized youth violence prevention plans and measure progress.
Report: Health-Related Behaviors among Students
This study aims to understand the health-related behaviors that contribute to negative health outcomes among sexual minority youth and how the prevalence of these behaviors compares with that of nonsexual minorities. Data came from the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which for the first time included questions about sexual identity and sex of sexual contacts. The report found that sexual minority youth experienced substantially higher levels of physical and sexual violence and bullying, and were at increased risk for suicide.
Report: Physical Education Attendance Among U.S. High School Students
This report analyzes long-term trends in physical education attendance among high school students in the United States over the past 20 years. The report shows that half of high school students do not attend physical education classes and attendance in these classes steadily declines as students move through high school.
Share with Youth: Advice for Safe and Healthy Travel for Students
This webpage provides information that can assist students in staying healthy while studying abroad. It contains advice and resources that can help students prepare to travel, protect their health abroad, and safely return home.
Resource: A Comprehensive Technical Package for the Prevention of Youth Violence and Associated Risk Behaviors
This technical package (PDF, 64 pages) highlights six youth violence prevention strategies that represent the best available evidence on preventing youth violence and its consequences. It also articulates a select set of strategies and approaches to achieve the vision of CDC’s national initiative, Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere. Communities and states can use this resource to guide and inform decision-making related to youth violence prevention efforts.
Resource: Increasing Physical Education and Physical Activity: A Framework for Schools
This framework (PDF, 8 pages) from the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion can help schools plan and organize physical education and activity before, during, and after school to increase students’ overall physical activity and health.
Report: Suicide Rates for Teens Aged 15–19 Years, by Sex — United States, 1975–2015
This data snapshot describes teen suicide rates between 1975 and 2015 and the difference in suicide rates by sex. Overall, suicide rates for both male and female teens increased during the study period.
Resource: Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policy, Programs, and Practices
This technical package (PDF, 62 pages) describes seven science-based strategies that communities and states can use in their suicide prevention efforts. These strategies include: strengthening economic supports, strengthening access and delivery of suicide care, creating protective environments, promoting connectedness, teaching coping and problem-solving skills, identifying and supporting people at risk, and lessening harms and preventing future risk.
Report: 2016 School Health Policies and Practices Study
This report describes the findings of the 2016 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPPS), a national study periodically conducted to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. SHPPS addresses health education, physical education and physical activity, nutrition environment and services, and other tenets of the whole child approach.
Resource: Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT) E-Learning Module
This self-paced, online training module provides an overview of the HECAT, describes how to use the HECAT to develop or select a curriculum, and shares information and examples to ensure curriculum decisions meet student needs. School districts and schools can use the HECAT to select or develop appropriate and effective health education curricula and improve the delivery of health education.
Resource: Parent Engagement
This webpage provides an overview of parent engagement in schools, a promising protective factor that has been linked to better student behavior, higher academic achievement, and enhanced social skills. It also features fact sheets and other resources on parent engagement for school districts, school administrators, teachers, other school staff, parents, and families.
Sexual Risk Behavior Differences Among Sexual Minority High School Students — United States, 2015 and 2017
This report uses data from the 2015 and 2017 cycles of the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey to examine differences in eight sexual risk behaviors between subgroups of sexual minority youth and nonsexual minority youth, as well as within sexual minority youth.