It may be the type of violence that does not draw the same attention as a drive-by shooting, for example, but we should still recognize it as a violent act. Hanna has noted differences between youth violence in urban and rural settings. For instance, the typical urban violent act is committed against strangers, is somewhat random, and is often related to illegal activities. In contrast, victims of rural youth violence will most likely know the perpetrator, and the violent event is commonly related to a domestic issue. Many known risk factors for violence such as access to firearms, poverty, and media representation of violence are equally available in all communities.
Suicide is a growing concern as a cause of death in rural adolescents.
Suicide is an issue of violence that may burden rural youth more than urban youth. The study hopes to uncover some of the facts and examine some of the behaviors that put adolescents in rural communities at risk for suicide. The CDC surveys youth once every other year about certain risk-taking behaviors such as carrying weapons, fighting and suicidal tendencies. The National Children's Center plans to study this vast amount of information to draw conclusions about the behaviors of rural adolescents that may contribute to violent behavior. At this point, we're not sure if there are significant differences among the risky behaviors of urban, suburban or rural kids, but there is much more that needs to be done.