Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-sd5qd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-08T02:23:02.427Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The role of adolescence in geographic variation in violent aggression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2017

Abigail A. Marsh
Abigail A. Marsh*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057. aam72@georgetown.edu www.abigailmarsh.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In explaining variation in violent aggression across populations, the age structures of those populations must be considered. Adolescents between the ages of 15 and 25 are disproportionately responsible for violent aggression in every society, and increases in violence tend to follow population “youth bulges.” Large numbers of adolescents in equatorial regions may account for observed relationships between geography and violence.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 40 , 2017 , e90
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Blakemore, S. J. (2008) The social brain in adolescence. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 9:267–77. doi: 10.1038/nrn2353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bricker, N. Q. & Foley, M. C. (2013) The effect of youth demographics on violence: The importance of the labor market. International Journal of Conflict and Violence 7:179–94.Google Scholar
Central Intelligence Agency (2016b) The world factbook. Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2177rank.html.Google Scholar
Cincotta, R. P. & Leahy, E. (2011) Population age structure and its relation to civil conflict: A graphic metric. Environmental Change & Security Program 12:55–58.Google Scholar
Cohen, A. O., Breiner, K., Steinberg, L., Bonnie, R. J., Scott, E. S., Taylor-Thompson, K., Rudolph, M. D., Chein, J., Richeson, J. A., Heller, A. S., Silverman, M. R., Dellarco, D. V., Fair, D. A., Galván, A. & Casey, B. J. (2016) When is an adolescent an adult? Assessing cognitive control in emotional and nonemotional contexts. Psychological Science 27(4):549–62. doi: 10.1177/0956797615627625.Google Scholar
Giedd, J. N. (2004) Structural magnetic resonance imaging of the adolescent brain. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1021:77–85. doi: 10.1196/annals.1308.009.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hart, D., Atkins, R., Markey, P. & Youniss, J. (2004) Youth bulges in communities: The effects of age structure on adolescent civic knowledge and civic participation. Psychological Science 15:591–97. doi: 10.1111/j.0956-7976.2004.00725.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lenroot, R. K. & Giedd, J. N. (2006) Brain development in children and adolescents: Insights from anatomical magnetic resonance imaging. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 30:718–29. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2006.06.001.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mesquida, C. G. & Wiener, N. I. (1999) Male age composition and severity of conflicts. Politics and the Life Sciences 18(2):181–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moffitt, T. E. (1993) Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review 100:674–701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pampel, F. C. & Gartner, R. (1995) Age structure, socio-political institutions, and national homicide rates. European Sociological Review 11:243–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, J. A. (2006) The relationship between age structure and homicide rates in the United States, 1970 to 1999. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 43:230–60. doi: 10.1177/0022427806286565.Google Scholar
Scheidt, P. C., Harel, Y., Trumble, A., Jones, D. H., Overpeck, M. D. & Bijur, P. E. (1995) The epidemiology of nonfatal injuries among US children and youth. American Journal of Public Health 85:932–38.Google Scholar
Snyder, H. N. (2012) Arrest in the United States, 1990–2010. U.S. Department of Justice. NCJ 239423. Available at: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/aus9010.pdf.Google Scholar
Steinberg, L. (2013) The influence of neuroscience on US Supreme Court decisions about adolescents' criminal culpability. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 14:513–18. doi: 10.1038/nrn3509 Google Scholar
Urdal, H. (2006) A clash of generations? Youth bulges and political violence. International Studies Quarterly 50:607–29. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2478.2006.00416.x.Google Scholar