Introduction

Serious and violent juvenile (SVJ) offenders, although few in number, are responsible for a disproportionate number of crimes. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has built a research base to increase understanding of this group of offenders among policymakers, youth service providers, and the public. OJJDP's Study Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders expanded on the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders (Wilson and Howell, 1993). For 2 years, the Study Group of 22 researchers collaboratively analyzed current research on risk factors, protective factors, and the development of SVJ offenders. This Bulletin focuses on one aspect of this work—prevention.

The best predictor of antisocial adolescent behavior is early conduct problems. Most serious offenders have a history of childhood misbehavior, including antisocial behaviors such as physical aggression, conduct disorders, and disruptive, covert, oppositional, and defiant behaviors. Identifying the risk factors for these behaviors is important in developing strategies to prevent violent offending. Risk factors may include distal or community-level risk factors, such as poverty or access to guns or drugs, and proximal risk factors, such as parent management practices, deviant peer groups, or low intelligence. This Bulletin explores these proximal risk factors, reviews the early developmental precursors to violent offending, and summarizes approaches to prevention. It also discusses components of intervention programs; limitations of single-focus preventions; examples of well-designed, multisystemic intervention programs that target proximal risk factors; and limitations of prevention strategies.

Prevention of Serious and Violent Juvenile Offending	Juvenile Justice Bulletin • April 2000