Violence Prevention Among African American Middle School Children

The description of violence and recommendations for prevention stated here are based on findings of an ethnographic research project carried out in a middle school in an area with high rates of recorded violent crime. Open-ended interviews with African American middle school students were recorded, transcribed, and content analyzed. A quantitative data base recording incidents was established. Research findings indicate that “opening moves” in violent incidents are generally offensive touching, interfering with possessions, hurtful play (including teasing), “backbiting,” (or reported talking against another,) or insults. Most incidents took place in the school or home. This violence is generally attributed to retribution, which holds a number of implications for school-based violence prevention. Practitioners could work to reduce the “opening moves,” aim to change values about punishment responses, and teach non-violent ways of seeking compliance.