Prevalence of the exposure to direct and indirect violence: A study with adolescents from public schools

Abstract

Adolescence is considered as a stage of the vital cycle, in which there is greater vulnerability to be exposed to both direct (being a victim) and indirect violence (being a witness or hearing about violent acts). This study investigated the exposure to direct and indirect violence (dependent variables), in relation to associated independent variables (gender, age range, school failure and family configuration), in 426 adolescents of 12 to 18 years old, from public schools in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. A sociodemographic questionnaire and the instrument "Screening of the exposure of children to violence in the community" were used. Descriptive and inferential analyses (Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests) indicated that 65% of the participants were exposed to at least one episode of direct violence, while 97% of them were exposed to indirect violence; and that both exposures were more frequent in adolescents from 16 to 18 years old (p<0.001) who had a history of school failure (p<0.02). Emphasis is given to the need for further studies that investigate factors associated to indirect violence and the impact of this type of exposure in development, in addition to prevention and intervention public policies in the area of violence toward children and adolescents.

Keywords

• adolescencia
• exposición a violencia
• victima
• testigo