Violence counseling in the routine health care of adolescents.
Intentional violence is a leading cause of mortality among teenagers and young adults. Whereas violence-related mortality is fairly well recognized among medical practitioners, the literature contains little information regarding violence-related morbidity or medically oriented approaches to preventing violence. Violence-related morbidity data for adolescents from one community revealed that 50% of the male respondents experienced at least one pushing or shoving fight per year, and that by age 16 25% had already been threatened by a weapon. These findings provided the impetus to incorporate regular violence counseling into the routine health care maintenance of adolescents at one health center. Our approach to violence-prevention counseling, obtaining a history of violence, and devising a treatment plan is described and advocated.
Stringham
P
P
East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, Massachusetts 02146.
Weitzman
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D003617:Dangerous Behavior; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D014754:Violence