Fight!

Violence (physical fighting) is the major cause of intentional

injuries among adolescents, especially in urban areas. Violence

is the second leading cause of death for all 15-to-24-year-olds

and is the leading cause of death for black youths. Non-fatal

violence is less easily measured, yet it is thought to occur at

higher rates than homicide.

Acquaintance violence is violence between people who

know each other. Fighting is the type of violence that most

frequently and directly affects students and it is the type of

violence they can do the most to control.

Adolescents are prone to violence for several reasons.

First, their extreme self-consciousness makes them ultrasensitive

to embarrassment and unable to ignore verbal attacks.

Young adolescents are likely to feel that their entire sense of

self-esteem depends on the outcome of a particular conflict.

Also, boys go through a stage of extreme macho behavior as

they establish their sexual identity. Alcohol and drugs increase

the chances that a conflict will result in violence.

Adolescents are also influenced by the media which

glamorizes violence and aggression and presents them as an

acceptable way to resolve disputes. Another factor in violence

among teens is their immaturity in handling anger. Anger is a

normal reaction to rejection, disapproval, disappointment, or

frustration. Poverty and racism intensify frustration and anger.

Anger creates tension or stress, producing adrenaline that

prepares the body for fight or flight. We often think that striking

out or running away are the only choices in a conflict, but often

there are other options.

Fights don’t just happen. According to Deborah Prothrow-

Smith, M.D., author of “Violence Prevention: Curriculum

for Adolescents,” there is always a history to the relationship

in which certain ways of relating are established. A conflict

escalates. There is a provocation or confrontation. The fight

begins when there is an act of aggression, an attempt to

harm someone.

Helping adolescents to understand the risks of violence

and to learn healthy ways of handling their own anger as well

as anger toward them promotes the concept that violence is

preventable. In addition, learning to cope with bad feelings

and troublesome emotions builds self-esteem and successful

patterns of problem solving.