The Importance Of Sense Of Belonging In Human Development

A fundamental part of human existence and interaction is the notion of belonging or identifying with a group. Groups form and exist for various reasons and purposes, comprising of individuals similar or diverse in nature, that often work together toward a common goal (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014). In 1902, the American sociologist by the name of C. H. Cooley, made distinction between primary and secondary groups. Cooley (1902) classified primary group to have intimate and comparatively permanent associations as one might find in a cohort of close friends, or a family. The groups or associations in which individuals related to each other through formal and often legalistic rules, were classified as secondary groups (Nolen, 2010).

Scholars and practitioners often times refer countless other youths, who are indirectly affected by gun violence as the "survivors" of such violence. Such survivors are witnesses to indirect gun violence either at their schools, homes, communities or media (Garbarino et. al., 2002; Wilkinson, McBryde, Williams, Bloom, & Bell, 2009)). Myriad of research done by public health researchers, psychologists, criminologists, sociologists, and legal scholars demonstrates that firearm related violence could affect youth, families and communities psychologically, economically and socially (Sheley, Wright, & Wright,1998).. Firearm related violence is both a public health and criminal justice issue. For this reason, prevention strategies geared toward reducing

The starting point of violence takes place in communities and at home--not at school. Youth take what they hear and see at home and in their communities to school. The environment in some communities and households are positive and the presences of protective factors outweigh the high risk factors. However, there are communities and households where there is a lack of informal social control and high risk factors exist more than protective factors--, which affect youth in a negative manner.

“We belong … like fish in water. We’re in our environment.” This quote from the New York Times shows the perception of belonging as the idea about connecting to a place, person, group or a community. 'Feliks Skrzynecki' by Peter Skrzynecki, 'I'm nobody! Who are you?' by Emily Dickinson and 'The Rabbits' by John Marsden & Shaun Tan show the concept of belonging as being contrasted towards the New York Times quote, showing the alienation and non-existent connection towards it. These texts have furthered my understanding on the perceptions of belonging by recognising the different concepts of connection to people, places and things.

Gudino and Rindlaub (2014) found that 92% of the Latino students in their study had been exposed to some form of community violence in the previous six months. Youth gender and age were not significantly correlated with exposure to violence, but gender was significantly correlated with PTSD scores with girls reporting higher levels of PTSD symptoms (Rasmussen et al., 2012). The youths exhibited both suppressing and expressing symptoms. The internalizing symptoms included affective and anxiety symptoms while the externalizing symptoms included mood swings and

Adolescent violence has turned into an expanding issue in the U.S. youth violence and young people raised in the 1990s and has stayed high. Youth are the in all probability gathering to be casualties or culprits of high school violence, however the after effects of teenager violence influence everybody. Youth brutality insights demonstrate this is a significant issue: A normal of 15 youngsters are killed every day in the U.S., and more than 80 percent of those are killed with firearms (Khey, 2008). In 2004, brutality insights report 750,000 youngsters were dealt with in doctor 's facilities for roughness related wounds (Khey, 2008). One third of secondary school understudies reported being included in a battle at school in 2004, and 17 percent reported conveying a weapon to class in the month going before the 2004 overview (Khey, 2008). 1 in 12 young people in secondary school are harmed or undermined with a weapon every year (School Violence in America, 2015). 30 percent of junior and senior secondary school understudies are included in tormenting every year as the casualty, spook, or both (School Violence in America, 2015). According to a savagery measurements report by the U.S. Mystery Service, in the earlier decade, the chances of a secondary school understudy being harmed or debilitated with a weapon were around 1 in 14, and the chances of an adolescent being in a physical battle were 1 in 7 (Hiscock, 1926). Youth roughness can influence anybody, however a few

Racism and violence prevail in many communities. As racism and violence are still and issue today, many high school teens are victims of such a harsh reality. The article, "Victims of Crime," describes that:

Today, homicide is the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 24; when discussing youth violence the range is extended beyond 18 and in to the mid twenties (CDC). In addition to murder, non-fatal injuries are another large part of the picture of youth violence. In 2007, 668,000 young people between the ages of 10 and 14 were treated for violence related injuries at hospital emergency rooms (CDC). In 2007, a large representative sample of the country’s high school students were surveyed; 35.5% of students surveyed answered ‘yes’ when asked if “they had been in a physical fight in the previous twelve months”, and 4.2% of students surveyed answered ‘yes’ when asked if they had been “in a physical fight one or more times in the previous twelve months that resulted in injuries that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse (CDC). As this survey was conducted with a representative sample, it helps to give one a good picture of the aggregate youth violence problem in the United States of America.

Moreover, in this study Voisin, Bird, Hardestry, & Shiu noticed that community violence exposure among urban youth has caused them psychological distress, anxiety, depression, aggression, low academic functioning, and delinquency (Voisin, Bird, Hardestry, & Shiu, 2011). The researchers used a grounded theory approach that helped them understand how African American youth live in a high-violence Chicago neighborhood (Voisin, Bird, Hardestry, & Shiu, 2011). The methodology used by these researchers included 16 boys and 16 girls which are equal to 32 participants (Voisin, Bird, Hardestry, & Shiu, 2011). They found out that participants were exposed to community violence by either hearing about it, witnessing it, or as direct victim (Voisin, Bird,

This reading evaluate the trends for violence, crime, and abuse in the lives of children. This study provides updated estimates for exposure to a wide variety of offenses, including violence, crime, and abuse. This exposure is wide spread in the short term and over the developmental life course. Children and youth are exposed to violence, abuse, and crime in varied and extensive ways, which justifies continued monitoring and prevention

Teen Violence is a big dilemma in today’s society. Violent behaviors usually start from family and peers, as well as teens observing it at there neighborhoods or communities. These behaviors are reinforced by what youth see on television, on the Internet, in video games, movies, music videos, and what they hear in their music. When children are disciplined with severe corporal punishment or verbal abuse, or when they are physically or sexually abused, or when they witness such behavior in their home, it is not surprising that they behave violently toward others. Teen Violence has had such an impact in our youth today that it leads many destructive things and that’s why we have so much violence today.

According to the United States department of Justice, Over sixty percent of American children are exposed to a type of violence every year (Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Ormrod, R., Hamby, S., and Kracke, K. 2009). These forms of violence can be perpetrated by a victims home, community or school, with majority of children knowing the perpetrator(s). These experiences with violence whether primary or secondary, can cause serious psychological trauma to a child and in worst case scenarios death. The 2009 survey by the Department of Justice also found that children exposed to any form of violence were more likely to engage in violence in the future and almost forty percent of these children were exposed to multiple acts of violence ( pg.2). The

According to researchers Shapiro, Dorman, Welker and Clough (1998), gun violence is damaging the quality of life for urban youth and forty percent of adolescents stated that the fear of violence is affecting their daily lives because they do not trust people. The design of this study is cross-sectional, it is designed to connect violence-related exposures, attitudes, and behavior that contribute to the youth feelings and attitudes toward gun violence (Shapiro, Dorman, Welker and Clough, 1998). This study examines two types of gun exposure, which are traumatic exposure to gun violence and nontraumatic exposure to gun violence (Shapiro, Dorman, Welker and Clough, 1998). The sample included 1,619 youth from grades third to twelfth and the ages was from eight to eighteen (Shapiro, Dorman, Welker and Clough, 1998).

The need to belong in an integral part of the human psyche. All people, on some level, desire to feel a sense of belonging that will emerge from the connections made with people, places, groups, communities and the larger world. Belonging cannot be achieved without an understanding of oneself and their surroundings.

The struggle to belong and find one’s place is significant in the lives of some people.