The Boston Globe's Milton J. Valencia notes that Boston has seen a significant increase in teen violence in the past half-decade. But the trend isn't confined to Valencia's beat. In fact, the problem is a global one. Valencia writes that "the brazen shootings Boston is seeing are part of an ugly trend occurring in cities throughout the country." One could substitute "the world." He continues, "This summer, a 6-year-old was caught in gunfire while he played with friends in Baltimore and the spraying of bullets at a parade in Connecticut hit a 7-year-old. Last month, a 14-year-old was killed and a 13-year-old injured when someone opened fire in a crowd in Buffalo." Why? According to Valencia, "in Boston, teenagers are getting shot for things as petty as looking at someone's girlfriend, crossing the wrong street, or glancing at someone the wrong way, any type of perceived disrespect." Who is doing the shooting? According to Glenn Pierce, a professor at the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University who is researching gun trafficking and gun violence, the perpetrators are other teens. "You have kids that actually have access to guns," says Pierce, adding that along with the lack of maturity comes a corresponding lack of responsibility and sensitivity for violence. But what is the "situation" behind the problem of teen violence? Few problems have simple causes or simple solutions. But as the American Psychological Association (APA) puts it, “the home is the most fertile breeding place for this situation." What a child hears and sees in the home is of critical importance. Teen violence then, like so many other problems that plague communities worldwide, would seem to beg us to take a closer look at the attitudes of adults and the state of family relationships. | 
