Predicting adolescent boys’ and young men’s perpetration of youth violence in Colombia

Youth violence poses a substantive public health burden in Latin America, particularly among adolescent boys. Understanding predictors of youth violence perpetration among boys and young men is critical to more effectively target and tailor prevention programs, especially in Colombia, which has endured decades-long internal armed conflict.

This study uses Colombia’s nationally representative 2018 Violence Against Children and Youth Survey data to examine risk and protective factors associated with violence perpetration among 13–24-year-old males.

Findings revealed that physical violence victimization by peers, emotional violence victimization by caregivers, having lost or been separated from a mother during childhood, and witnessing community violence were all associated with lifetime perpetration of youth violence. Programs targeting reduction of youth violence among boys might consider addressing the previously identified predictors earlier in the life course and at the individual, family and community levels.