Homicide remains the second leading cause of death among those aged 15 to24, and assault and youth violence attributed more than $16 billion in medical and work loss costs annually to society. Where past scholarship on violence has remained divided by discipline (psychology and sociology, for example) and by level of analysis (split between individual and community levels), this project seeks to bridge these gaps and create a new, unified approach.

Using mixed-methods approaches to identify the factors which create resilience to violence at the individual and community levels, the project team works with local partners to implement programs that enhance these factors among youth in high-burden communities in the northeast. The multidisciplinary team has extensive experience in working in vulnerable communities and building new programs to increase resilience among residents. Through interviews and focus groups with community members, surveys of adolescents, and regular interactions with the project’s Community Advisory Board, the team has collected significant data on the conditions developing resilience among youth.

Project Principal Investigators