Mapping Driving Factors of UK Serious Youth Violence across Policy and the Community: A Multi-Level Discoursal Analysis

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Overall this is a great paper, would I would like to see is a more robust limitations and future research section dedicated to what was not garnered from the study based on its limitations and where the field should continue to expound upon the findings of the study. 

Author Response

Comment 1: Overall this is a great paper, would I would like to see is a more robust limitations and future research section dedicated to what was not garnered from the study based on its limitations and where the field should continue to expound upon the findings of the study. 

Response: The authors thank the reviewer for taking the time to review this manuscript, as well as for their helpful direction. Following this, an effort has been made to highlight more explicitly the limitations of the study, and how these along with the findings can be applied to future study. These additions are highlighted and can be found on pages 5 and 19 of the updated manuscript. 

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is a well written and well researched article. The author(s) have set out the research aims clearly. The methodology is rigorous and the results and findings are explained well.

Author Response

Comments 1: This is a well written and well researched article. The author(s) have set out the research aims clearly. The methodology is rigorous and the results and findings are explained well.

Response 1: The authors thank the reviewer for taking the time to review the article and for their positive assessment of the manuscript

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I think the qualitative approach to this topic makes an important contribution to the literature on youth crime and violence. I do think the role of religion and religious communities is another important component of the complex relationships discussed the by the author(s) and should not be overlooked. I list below several relevant publications that might be helpful to include in the research review: 

Johnson, B.R. (2006). The Role African American Churches in Reducing Crime Among Black Youth.  Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University;  Jang, S.J. & Johnson, B.R. (2011). The Effects of Childhood Exposure to Drug Users and Religion on Drug Use in Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Youth and Society, 43:1220-1245; Lee, M. T., et al., (2017). From defiance to reliance: Spiritual virtue as a pathway towards desistence, humility, and recovery among juvenile offenders. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 4(3), 161-175; 1; Johnson, B.R. (2008). A Tale of Two Religious Effects: Evidence for the Protective and Prosocial Impact of Organic Religion, in Kline, K. (ed.).  Authoritative Communities: The Scientific Case for Nurturing Children in Body, Mind, and Spirit.  Springer Press.

Author Response

Comments 1: I do think the role of religion and religious communities is another important component of the complex relationships discussed the by the author(s) and should not be overlooked. I list below several relevant publications that might be helpful to include in the research review: 

Johnson, B.R. (2006). The Role African American Churches in Reducing Crime Among Black Youth.  Institute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University;  Jang, S.J. & Johnson, B.R. (2011). The Effects of Childhood Exposure to Drug Users and Religion on Drug Use in Adolescence and Young Adulthood, Youth and Society, 43:1220-1245; Lee, M. T., et al., (2017). From defiance to reliance: Spiritual virtue as a pathway towards desistence, humility, and recovery among juvenile offenders. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 4(3), 161-175; 1; Johnson, B.R. (2008). A Tale of Two Religious Effects: Evidence for the Protective and Prosocial Impact of Organic Religion, in Kline, K. (ed.).  Authoritative Communities: The Scientific Case for Nurturing Children in Body, Mind, and Spirit.  Springer Press

Response 1: The authors thank the reviewer for their comment and for the time taken to review the manuscript. Whilst religion is an important factor in youth street cultural studies, and one that will be explored in future studies, it did not emerge in any way as a factor in the results and findings of this study. Furthermore, some of the suggested literature would not be contextually relevant for the UK framing adopted by this study.