AMONG ADOLESCENTS FROM A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY DR. MUNNI RAY INDIA

Conflict is a natural part of relating to others A conflict between two individuals that results in physical altercation is violence Nonphysical acts such as threats, name calling, harassment or stalking are also violent acts It is the act of purposefully hurting someone

Why do people commit violent acts? Expression : release feelings of anger or frustration Manipulation: way to control others or to get something one wants Retaliation: retaliate against those who have hurt them Learned behavior

“Understudied area among adolescents in India” As a consequence of exposure to violence, young people are at increased risk of experiencing a myriad of disturbing psychological symptoms “Understudied area among adolescents in India”

Aims and Objectives To assess the extent of exposure to violence among school going adolescents. To assess the sociodemographic correlates of exposure to violence To study the psychosocial adjustments of adolescents exposed to violence

Methodology Prospective study Cross sectional Survey design Self report questionnaire used Subjects: 1500 students from 10 government schools High school students (VIII to XII grades) School year 2001-2002 Preadolescent adjustment inventory used to assess the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents

Methodology Research worker asked the questions in a sensitive manner and the adolescents were ensured confidentiality All students attending school on the day of interview were included Pilot testing The questionnaire was divided into 2 parts: Assessment of Sociodemographic Profile Assessment of Recent exposure to violence

Questionnaire

Methodology Recent exposure to violence: Past one year The students were asked to report violence they had experienced or witnessed personally only what they had seen and heard and not events reported to them by others or seen on the television only “non play situations” Details of the type, nature, setting and frequency of each event was enquired Frequency: 5 point scale Very often, often, sometimes, rarely,never

Preadolescent Adjustment Inventory

Ethical consideration Consent was obtained from the principals of each school and an interview time of 20 mins. per student on usual working hours was taken Informed written consent was obtained from the parents and / or students Ethical clearance from Ethics committee of PGIMER, Chandigarh

Results

Demographic profile of study sample Mean age 15±1.67 yrs. Gender Male 52.6% Female 47.4% Staying with Both parents 92.3% Mother only 4% Father only 1.6% Alone 2.1% Family structure Nuclear 83.5% Joint 16.5%

No. of parents <V VI-X XI-XII Graduate Postgraduate

Distribution of adolescents according to their academic performance

Media viewing habits 98.7% of adolescents watched television regularly Only 18.7% viewed for more than 2hrs. Daily 72% liked and watched thriller, horror and action shows Boys liked these shows more than girls 15% adolescents did net surfing primarily for entertainment purposes

Assessment of adjustment scores of 1500 students They were most adjusted to home followed by peers Adjustment with teachers and school were least Only 6% of the students confided upon the teachers The boys trusted their friends more than girls who trusted their parents to share their worries Vague somatic symptoms were experienced by 20%

The different types of violence witnessed by the adolescents Type of violence Number Percentage PHYSICAL FIGHT 737 71.55% Slaps 408 Punches 250 Kicks 78 Pinches 1 FIGHT WITH OBJECTS 293 27.98% 8 out of 10 adolescents had witnessed someone being verbally put down or bullied at school, home or neighborhood

WITNESSING VIOLENCE USING DIFFERENT WEAPONS

Recent exposure of violence was at

Significant demographic correlates of adolescents who have witnessed violence Males witnessed violence significantly more than females (p<0.01) Adolescents with poorer academic performance witnessed violence more than those who had higher grades (p<0.01) Parents of children who witnessed violence had a lower educational profile than those who did not (p<0.01)

Comparison of adjustment scores of adolescents who have and have not witnessed violence *** ** ** *** ** *p 0.05 **p  0.01 ***p0.001

Victims of violence 27% of the respondents were victims of at least one of the violent acts 7% of the adolescents were victimized significantly so that they were bruised or injured

Victims of violence Twenty percent of the adolescents were victimized by parents and their teachers Reasons cited for victimization were primarily scholastic, indiscipline and defiance and not performing household chores Forty percent of adolescents who got corporal punishment received it often

Serious forms of victimization of study sample 7% of the adolescents who were victimized seriously in the past year were by classmates, schoolmates and friends Reasons cited were fight over money, fight over girls, response to verbal abuse etc. 6 of the adolescents were threatened to be hurt grievously 4 adolescents were found to carry weapons for self protection Five percent of the students are bullied at school

Correlates of victimization Physical victimization was more in case of boys than girls Girls were bullied more often than boys Younger children were victimized more often than older Academic performance was also lower for the victims of violence Socioeconomic variability had no bearing on victimization Overall adjustment scores of children who were victims were much lower than those who are not victimized. Adolescents who received corporal punishment had poor adjustment scales at home , school and with teachers

Perpetrators of violence 13% of adolescents surveyed disclosed violent behavior 20% of them bullied others Most of these violent altercations have occurred in schools (74%) 7% of the perpetrators used weapons to inflict injury The perpetrators were the ones who enjoyed seeing violent shows for longer durations. (p0.001) Boys reported higher rates of violence towards others than girls.(p0.001) 34% of the adolescents engaged in violence often Older adolescents were more likely to be perpetrators than those <16yrs. (p0.05) Perpetrators also had poorer academic performance.(p0.001) Adjustment with school, teacher and overall were poor but they were well adjusted to their peers.

Violence is a global issue Conclusions Violence is a global issue

Conclusions Youth violence involvement is a complex construct multiple settings multiple forms Frequency of violence at school is alarming School is just a microcosm of our entire society Less severe nature of violence: Less availability of firearms Role of media Bullying Parenting Socioeconomic background

Conclusions Impact of violence is universal and detrimental Exposure to violence and victimization are strongly associated with subsequent acts of violence by the victim 68% of the adolescents who had somatic symptoms were witnesses Academic performance was poorer in the adolescents who had violence exposure Adolescents who were witness, victim or perpetrators of violence had lower adjustment scores

TAKE A STAND AGAINST VIOLENCE RECOGNIZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE PROBLEM INSTITUTE VIOLENCE PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES

Violence free school environment

Department of Science and Technology Acknowledgement : Department of Science and Technology Chandigarh, India

Thank you