Adolescents exposed to physical violence in the community: a survey in Brazilian public schools
Rev. panam. salud pública
;
12(5): 327-332, nov. 2002. tab
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-342001
ABSTRACT
Objective. To determine the proportion of adolescents who have been exposed to physical violence in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Methods. Fifty-two Porto Alegre public schools that offer basic primary education (grades 1 to 8) were selected through a random sampling process stratified according to school size. In May-November 2000 a screening survey that identifies exposure to violenceFACE="Symbol">¾experienced personally, witnessed, or knowing victims of violent actsFACE="Symbol">¾was administered to all students who were attending a randomly selected 8th grade class in each of the 52 schools. Results. The total number of adolescents included in the analysis was 1 193, representing 10.3 percent of the students enrolled in 8th grade classes in the city's public school system. On average, each adolescent had been exposed to 19.8 incidents of violence (standard deviation (SD) = 8.5) 2.0 incidents personally experienced (SD = 2.1), 8.5 incidents witnessed (SD = 4.0), and 9.3 knowing a victim of an incident of violence (SD = 4.1). In our sample, the variables of being male (P < 0.001), being in an older age group (P< 0.001), and not living with both parents (P< 0.001) were independently associated with exposure to more incidents of violence. Conclusions. We found a high prevalence of incidents of violence among the adolescents in our sample in Porto Alegre. Considering the particular burden inflicted by violent acts on adolescents, health professionals must develop effective approaches to actively identifying, intervening in, and preventing community violence
Full text:
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Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Schools
/
Violence
/
Data Collection
Type of study:
Prevalence study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Risk factors
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
South America
/
Brazil
Language:
English
Journal:
Rev. panam. salud pública
Journal subject:
Public Health
Year:
2002
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul/BR
/
Vale do Rio dos Sinos University/BR
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