Introduction

This resource notebook is aimed at giving support and resources to those parents, teachers, and professionals that find themselves having to interact and work with physically or sexually aggressive youth. While brief and fleeting bouts of aggression, in many youth, can sometimes be attributed to natural rebellious tendencies, when the situation persists there is a good chance that something may need to be done immediately. This is, of course, due to the unique and frightening reality that aggression in youth presents and when one is not sure of their own or other’s safety, a situation may develop that is not secure and has the potential to compromise the well being and safety of all those involved.

With all of that in mind, this notebook was put together with the hope of offering not only phone numbers to call, but also with possible explanations and insights into why certain children are acting in aggressive ways, with an overarching desire to try and present a comprehensive look at what some of the causes of aggression are and how to handle it once it has presented itself. There are four distinct sections to this notebook, with the first being a list of agencies in the greater Seattle area that may be of help to those needing counseling or referral assistance in dealing with aggressive youth. This is by no means meant to be a fully comprehensive list, as certain situations may require more specialized aid or interventions, yet this list is a place to begin, a resource that will aid to get the ball rolling on getting the help that is needed. The next section is a list of websites that discuss the problem of aggression in youth, with many of these websites offering their own lists of resources and help to those needing it. The final two sections of the notebook include a bibliography of some of the most current research aimed at exploring and discussing the problem of aggression in youth, including a short annotated bibliography of five current studies that were done concerning aggression. Finally, there is a list of books available that, in one way or another, discuss or deal with the issues surrounding aggression in children.

With all of these resources put together in one notebook, it is the hope of the author that anyone who is having to work with or interact with a child who is showing aggressive behavior will be able to find the help and information needed to make informed decisions.

Section 1

Agencies and Services Available

  • Federal Way Youth and Family Services

Individual, group, and family counseling is available for $7-$76 per hour. Special classes focus on parenting issues, teen pregnancy prevention, support groups for survivors of sexual abuse, children of alcoholics, and non-offending parents. Services include advocacy for families show are having difficulty accessing services; a delinquency prevention program for young offenders; an anger management class for women; and domestic violence and anger management classes for men who batter women.

Website: home.earthlink.net/~fwyfs

Phone: 253.835.9975

Address:33705 9th Ave. S. Federal Way, WA 98003

Similar regional or city based service providers:

  • Vashon Youth and Family Services
  • Phone: 206.463.5511
  • Kent Youth and Family Services
  • Phone: 253.859.0300
  • Renton Area Youth and Family Services
  • Phone: 425.271.5600
  • Youth Eastside Services
  • Phone: 425.747.4937
  • Central Youth and Family Services
  • Phone: 206.322.7676
  • Auburn Youth Resource
  • Phone: 253.939.2202
  • Mercer Island Youth and Family Services
  • Phone: 206.236.3525
  • Northshore Youth and Family Services
  • 425.485.6541
  • HarborviewMedicalCenter: Anger Management and Domestic Violence Program

Program provides comprehensive evaluation and treatment for anger and domestic violence. Services include a diagnostic assessment, individualized treatment plan, consultation with abused family members, and, if needed, referral to shelter or other support services. The core of the program is attendance at a weekly therapy group of a minimum of 24 sessions. Intake evaluation is $350; a six month program which includes individual and group therapy is $1,190-$1,800. Payments are accepted from most major insurance plans. Some clients may be eligible for a sliding scale discount.

Website:

Phone: 206.731.3025

Address: 325 9th Ave. Seattle, WA 98104

  • Mentor Health Northwest

Behavioral health care provider serves adults, children, families, and older adults for emotional and behavioral problems. Issues include stress, grief and loss, depression, parenting and step parenting, abuse, relationships, ADHD, trauma, and other life problems. Alcohol and chemical dependency treatment is available to adults, as well as anger management and domestic violence perpetrator treatment. Individual and group therapy sessions are available as well as day and evening appointments. Fees are based on a sliding scale. Medicare, medical coupons, private insurance, HMO plans, and self pay are accepted.

Phone: 425.827.9100 Toll Free: 800.828.1449

Address: Multiple locations, call for information.

  • United Indians of All Tribes foundation

Multi-service agency that primarily serves Native Americans and Alaska Natives; serves others as space allows. Family program offers individual, group, and family counseling, often in the home. Also offers men and women support groups, anger management workshops, parenting and other classes, and referrals to chemical dependency counseling. Also offers two youth programs for street children and transitional housing for youth and young adults.

Phone: 206.285.4425

Address: PO Box 99100Seattle, WA98199

  • Catholic Community Services

Multi-service agency provides a variety of services that address the needs of children, families, and older adults. Call for information.

Website:

Phone: 206.328.5774

Address: Multiple locations, call for information.

  • Childhaven Crisis Nursery

Childhaven’s Crisis Nursery provides a 24-hour crisis phone line, crisis intervention, resource referral, and free emergency respite care for children, birth to six years old, during family crisis or other stressful situation. No DSHS referral needed. Older siblings up to age 12 may be considered for service on a case-by-case basis.

Website:

Phone: 206.328.5437

Address: 322 Broadway Seattle, WA 98122

  • Ruth Dykeman Children’s Center – Youth and Family Services
  • Residential and Community Based Services

Separate residential treatment programs for emotionally impaired girls and boys, ages 8-17. Programs include individualized treatment and education plans, in-home crisis family service, aftercare, and a special juvenile sex offender program for boys. Accepts DSHS placements and private referrals.

Phone: 206.242.1698

Address: 1033 SW 152nd St. Seattle, WA 98166

Website:

  • Youth and Family Services

Provides short-term crisis intervention, long-term individual and family counseling, and special services for at risk youth. Cost is $0-$70 per hour, and medical coupons are accepted. Focuses on youth and families living in Southwest Seattle and the HighlineSchool District.

Phone: 206.243.5544

Address: 15001 8th Ave.SW Seattle, WA 98166

  • RytherChildCenter

Outpatient therapy included individual, group, and family therapy. Brief intensive treatment is available for families who are experiencing an immediate crisis situation. Intake fee is $100 and sessions cost $35-$75. Residential treatment for severely emotionally disturbed children, ages 6-18, and their families included diagnosis, individual, family, and group therapy in grouped residences. Residents attend public schools or on-campus program. 6 months of aftercare includes coordination of community services. Preschool day treatment and outpatient service programs are available for children, ages 3-6, with severe or chronic behavioral or emotional problems.

Website:

Phone: 206.525.5050 Toll Free: 800.833.6388

Address: 2400 NE 95th St. Seattle, WA 98115-2499

  • FairfaxHospital

FairfaxHospital provides brief, acute psychiatric inpatient stabilization for children, adolescents, and adults. Treatment includes individual, group, and family therapy; medications; and therapeutic activities in individually tailored programs as determined by a multidisciplinary treatment team.

Website:

Phone: 425.821.2000 Toll Free: 800.435.7221

Address: 10200 NE 132nd St. Kirkland, WA 98034

  • Children’s Hospital and Medical Center – Mental Health Services

Offers inpatient and outpatient mental health services at several sites for severely emotionally disturbed children up to age 18. Crisis intervention is available. Psychological services include interdisciplinary evaluation and treatment, neurobehavioral disorders clinic, and child psychiatry and behavioral medicine clinic. Coordinates intensive in-home interventions for children at risk to determine the need for hospitalization. Also offers assessment and rehabilitation services.

Website:

Phone: 206.528.2760

Address: 4800 Sand Point WayNE Seattle, WA 98105-0371

  • Seattle Children’s Home

Manages three transitional housing programs for homeless adolescents and young adults, specializing in treatment for those with behavioral, psychosocial, and mental health problems. Flying Colors is a full day therapeutic childcare for children ages 2½-5 who exhibit emotional problems.

Phone: 206.283.3300

  • Children’s Crisis Response Team

Provides immediate service, 24 hours daily, for anyone up to age 21 in mental health crisis. Children and their families are helped over the telephone or in person. Services include on-site response within one hour of call if necessary; crisis de-escalation; same day and next day appointment coordination, emergency medication review and management; in-home support services including one-to-one family workers, school coordination, parent education, referrals to services, and access to on-going therapy.

Website:

Phone: 206.461.3222

Address: 2142 10th Ave.W Seattle, WA 98119

  • Parent Place

Provides individual, couples, and family counseling on parenting related uses such as teen rebellion, communication, and marital problems. Counseling tends to be problem-focused and short-term.

Phone: 206.364.9933

Address: 15064 15th Ave. NEShoreline, WA 98155

  • Program for Early Parent Support

Organized neighborhood discussion and support groups for parents with infants, ages birth to 4 months old. Groups meet in participants’ homes. Outreach and teen groups for parents of children, birth-3 years old. Meet at several family centers and high school. Meeting sites are located throughout KingCounty.

Website:

Phone: 206.547.8570

Address: 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N #324Seattle, WA 98102-6900

  • Pioneer Human Services – Pioneer Counseling

Provides individual, group, and family counseling. Teaches anger management classes for youth, ages 11-19, and parenting education classes. Offers drop-out prevention counseling for at-risk youth at Northend middle schools.

Phone: 206.527.1405

Address: 8288 Lake City WayNE Seattle, WA 98115

Section 2

Online Resources

NationalYouthViolencePreventionResourceCenter

Who Are We?

The NationalYouthViolencePreventionResourceCenter is a “one-stop shop” for information on youth violence prevention, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other Federal agencies.

Positive things are happening, making it less and less likely you and other teens will experience a violent event, such as a school shooting, that seems to capture the attention of TV stations and newspapers around the world.

But where do you go if you’re wondering how to help a friend who is depressed, what to do if someone you know is planning to commit a violent act, or how to start a nonviolence program in your school? What can you do to make a positive difference?

Check out the resources on this web site or call us toll-free at 1-866-SAFEYOUTH (1-866-723-3968). We’ll help you find out what you need to know about violence – how to prevent it, and how it influences the decisions that you and other teens make.

Main Website:

Directly Concerning Aggression:

Children’s Services Practice Notes

Welcome to Children’s Services Practice Notes, a newsletter designed to enhance the practice of North Carolina’s child welfare workers by providing them with information about research and practice models.

Produced four times a year, Practice Notes is sponsored by the North Carolina Division of Social Services and the Family and Children’s Resource Program, part of the Jordan Institute for Families and the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

In summarizing recent research, we try to give you new ideas for refining your practice. However, this publication is not intended to replace regular supervision and peer consultation—only to enhance them.

Main Website:

Link to Working with Aggressive Youth article:

Washington State Department of

Social and Health Services

Listed below are some of the programs available through DSHS and a direct link to a description of the program below it. Just type the address into your web browser’s address bar directly as it appears and you’ll be taken directly to it:

  • Sexually Aggressive Youth Program
  • Family Reconciliation Services
  • Behavioral Rehabilitation Services and Children’s Hospitalization Alternative Program
  • Family Support Services
  • Respite Care Services

Girls and BoysTown, the original Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home, is a leader in the treatment and care of abused, abandoned and neglected girls and boys. Throughout its 86-year history, the nonprofit, nonsectarian organization has provided these children with a safe, caring, loving environment where they gain confidence to get better and learn skills to become productive citizens. Girls and BoysTownalumni have gone on to become successful in all facets of life.

Call With any Problem, Anytime
1-800-448-3000 (TDD 1-800-448-1833)
Open 24 hours a day, everyday

The Girls and Boys Town National Hotline is a 24-hour crisis, resource and referral line. Accredited by the American Association of Suicidology, our Hotline is staffed by trained counselors who can respond to your questions every day of the week, 365 days a year. Over the past decade, more than 5 million callers have found help at the end of the line.

This organization provides training for professionals, parents, and kids & teens on how to deal with myriad life problems. They offer workshops, professional development, parent classes, and book lists – just to name a few of the resources this site has to offer. The address to their website is listed below.

Speaking, consulting and writing on child development and parent-child communication.

Dr. Lawrence Kutner is one of America’s best-known speakers, writers, broadcasters and psychologists specializing in families and children. For seven years he wrote the internationally syndicated, award-winning “Parent & Child” column for the New York Times. He’s been a child development columnist and contributing editor of Parents and Parenting magazines.

Dr. Kutner is the author of five books on child development and parent-child communication. He’s the co-founder and co-director of the HarvardMedicalSchoolCenter for Mental Health and Media, and is on the psychiatry faculty at HarvardMedicalSchool and Massachusetts GeneralHospital.

This website is very exhaustive in its offerings of parental advice and resources for parents. There is a great section on aggresstive behavior in kids, and the link that will take you directly to this section is below, with the address to the website’s homepage below that.

Aggression Section:

Homepage:

Section 3

Research

The following is a list of articles and studies that have to do directly with aggression in youth. They are listed by title, followed by the authors and the publication they were published in. Also included, when available, is a quick abstract that tells you exactly what the particular article is about.

These articles touch on many different topics, such as causal relations between environment and aggression, TV violence and its effect on aggression, family structures and dynamics as they pertain to aggression, etc. This list is being offered with the hope that if you’re serious about learning about aggression in children, you’ll take the time to go to your public library or closest University campus and find these articles to read. Following the list is a brief annotated bibliography that has in it five of the studies listed in full text form with a discussion of their methods and outcomes.

Family structure and aggressive behavior in a population of urban elementary school children.
Pearson, Jane L, Ialongo, Nicholas S, Hunter, Andrea G, Kellam, Sheppard G.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.Baltimore: May 1994. Vol. 33, Iss. 4; p. 540.

  • Associations between family structure and 393 fourth-grade children's aggressive behavior were examined. Boys and girls in mother-alone families were rated to be more aggressive relative to mother-father families.

Parental influences on students' aggressive behaviors and weapon carrying. Pamela Orpinas, Nancy Murray, Steven Kelder.Health Education and Behavior.Thousand Oaks: Dec 1999. Vol. 26, Iss. 6; p. 774.

  • Orpinas describes the association between four family constructs--family structure, relationship with parents, parental monitoring and perception of parental attitudes toward fighting--and aggressive behaviors and weapon carrying among middle school students.

Fears and other suspected risk factors for carrying lethal weapons among urban youths of middle-school age. Arria A, Borges G, Anthony JC.Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Jun 1997. Vol. 151, Iss. 6; p. 555

  • OBJECTIVE: To estimate the strength of a suspected causal association between fearfulness and carrying a lethal weapon among urban middle-school students, while holding constant other suspected risk factors.

Developmental Trajectories of Externalizing Behaviors in Childhood and Adolescence. Ilja L Bongers, Hans M Koot, Jan van der Ende, Frank C Verhulst.Child Development.Chicago: Sep/Oct 2004. Vol. 75, Iss. 5; p. 1523

  • This article describes the average and group-based developmental trajectories of aggression, opposition, property violations, and status violations using parent reports of externalizing behaviors on a longitudinal multiple birth cohort study of 2,076 children aged 4 to 18 years.

Physical aggression during early childhood: trajectories and predictors. Tremblay RE, Nagin DS, Seguin JR, Zoccolillo M.Pediatrics. Jul 2004. Vol. 114, Iss. 1; p. e43.

  • OBJECTIVES: Physical aggression in children is a major public health problem. Not only is childhood physical aggression a precursor of the physical and mental health problems that will be visited on victims, but also aggressive children themselves are at higher risk of alcohol and drug abuse, accidents, violent crimes, depression, suicide attempts, spouse abuse, and neglectful and abusive parenting. Furthermore, violence commonly results in serious injuries to the perpetrators themselves. Although it is unusual for young children to harm seriously the targets of their physical aggression, studies of physical aggression during infancy indicate that by 17 months of age, the large majority of children are physically aggressive toward siblings, peers, and adults. This study aimed, first, to identify the trajectories of physical aggression during early childhood and, second, to identify antecedents of high levels of physical aggression early in life. Such antecedents could help to understand better the developmental origins of violence later in life and to identify targets for preventive interventions.

A comparison of teacher-rated and self-reported threats of interpersonal violence. Albert K Liau, Daniel J Flannery, Kathleen Quinn-Leering.The Journal of Early Adolescence.Thousand Oaks: Aug 2004. Vol. 24, Iss. 3; p. 231.