Preventing Violence in America

Preventing Violence in America Robert L. Hampton, Pamela Jenkins, & Thomas P. Gullotta, eds. Newbury, CA: Sage Publications, 1996

The increasing levels of violence within our society continue to be a significant social problem. Social scientists have long investigated the antecedents to violence and sought to develop effective prevention strategies and programs. Preventing Violence in America, the fourth of five volumes in the Issues in Children's and Families' Lives, edited by Robert L. Hampton, Pamela Jenkins, and Thomas P. Gullotta, has provided us with an all-encompassing examination of the problem of violence in the United States.

These volumes were developed by the Bernard and Alva Gimbel Foundation in an effort to bring together the thoughts of some of the nations' scholars and practitioners who have focused their work on this critical social issue facing children and their families. This volume is focused on the prevention of violence in the United States, and provides a multidisciplinary approach to the understanding of this problem. The authors present information that reflects the research and clinical knowledge of those disciplines that offer the best opportunities for advancing successful prevention and intervention programs.

Preventing Violence in America is distinguished by its balance between research and practice interventions. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of this critical social issue and build upon existing theories and models of causation and prevention. The incorporation and blending of history, theory, programs, and models provide the reader with a compelling exposition of the current state of this problem along with practical solutions for its amelioration. This text should be a useful tool for practitioners, administrators, legislators, and scholars whose focus is on both causation and prevention of violence.

As with many books that address a problem of such magnitude as violence, solutions are not readily forthcoming. The authors provide many insights that help create a public awareness of the scope of a problem that permeates every aspect of our society. In addition, they propose new and alternative theoretical concepts for the reader to ponder (e.g., new paradigms of resiliency, feminist thought, spirituality). The authors also provide the reader with some sound and succinct solutions that may be implemented (e.g., public health models, educational models). This book clearly indicates that continued research is needed in this area to further investigate the causes of violence and to devise effective programs to combat this major social problem.

James Herbert Williams

George Warren Brown School of Social Work

Washington University

St Louis, MO

Copyright Family Service America Nov/Dec 1998
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