Violence

Violence affects children and adolescents widely. Pediatricians see many of these effects and need to be prepared to address them. A key role for providers in addressing violence, however, lies in working to prevent it. In this endeavor, the provider must be knowledgeable about the risk factors and vigilant for discerning these risks during office visits. Family factors, peer group issues, other risky behaviors, and weapons availability and use all are within the range of topics that a provider might choose to address. At the same time, pediatricians have a key role to play as advocates for children in working with community partners to increase supports for children and families, to institute new programs to prevent violence, and to help remove firearms from the hands of children and youth.