Lead exposure and child maltreatment as models for how to conceptualize early-in-life risk factors for violence

Although rates of violent crime have been on the decline in the United States for the past two decades, young people—and particularly young men—continue to commit and fall victim to alarmingly high rates of violence. Effective prevention requires data on what the determinants of violence are and when in the life course they emerge. The goal of this review was to identify early-in-life risk factors for violence and to describe (a) who is most affected and (b) effect mechanisms. I focus on abuse and neglect and exposure to lead as risk factors for violence that disproportionately affect young children and that are likely to have causal effects on development. I conclude with future directions for research and intervention.