Assets and Youth Violence

One of the biggest predictors of how a young person will react when provoked to violence is the number of assets they have. When a student has an extremely low number of asset (under10) he or she has very few "tools" in their toolbox for dealing with conflict. Low asset kids are more prone to be bullies and to over react to negative comments. Young people without many assets simply see the world as more threatening and tend to value personal power through force and intimidation as a way to win respect.

Higher asset students have other means for achieving personal power. They typically receive more positive input form adults and peers and are less likely to feel a need to assert dominance to be respected. The more assets a student has the more avenues he or she has deal effectively manage conflict without resorting to violence.