Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 11, 1993                   TAG: 9308110003
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

PSYCHOLOGISTS SAY EARLY EFFORTS CAN HELP RESTRAIN YOUTH VIOLENCE

"Aggression is primarily a learned behavior, and since it is learned it can be unlearned or conditions can be set up so that it is not learned in the first place," said Leonard Eron, chairman of the American Psychological Association's Commission on Violence and Youth.

The commission's report summarizes what is known about violence and calls for more research.

"Violence involving youth is not random, uncontrollable or inevitable," the report said. "Many factors, both individual and social, contribute to an individual's propensity to use violence, and many of these factors are within our power to change."

Among the commission's findings were:

Parents with criminal records, who are abusive, antisocial, inconsistent or who reject their children tend to have children with similar behavior problems.

A history of violence is the "strongest predictor" of whether a child will be violent.

Watching violence on television contributes to violent behavior.

Access to alcohol, drugs and guns also contributes to violence.

Hanging out with gangs, angry mobs and other antisocial types can lead one to be violent.

Action to head this off "must begin early because without it, early aggression will commonly escalate into later violence and spread to other antisocial behaviors," the report said.