Youth violence prevention: Are we there yet?

This article summarizes the current state of efforts to develop programs to reduce youth violence. It begins with an overview of research related to the causes and consequences of youth violence, and describes the variety of prevention strategies that have been developed to reduce youth violence within the context of a grid model that classifies prevention strategies according to four dimensions: (a) the level of social system they attempt to change, (b) the extent to which they focus on individuals at different levels of risk, (c) the developmental stage of the participants, and (d) the goals of the program. The grid model provides a context for describing three programs that have been systematically evaluated and found to have some degree of effectiveness. The article concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and areas in need of further study.