Supervisors info:
Ιωάννης Μιχόπουλος, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ, Επιβλέπων
Αθανάσιος Δουζένης, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Ιωάννα Γιαννοπούλου , Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Introduction: Community violence constitutes a form of interpersonal disorder which can be physical, psychological, sexual or verbal. It can be direct or indirect, the attacker might be known or unknown, it is geographically limited and it takes place in public spaces. The exposure to community violence emerges directly from the act of violence through victimization or passively observing a violent incident. Perception is the cognitive function through which the sensory stimuli, that transfer information to the brain, are retrieved, organized and identified. The existence of negative information is much more noticeable due to the fact that might signal danger.
The aim of this study is to bring to light the level of children’s exposure to community violence through their experiences, either as victims or viewers. Moreover, it aims to probe the interrelation between the children’s exposure to violence and their perception of it.
Method: The sample consists of 150 children of age 10 to 12 years old, residents of Western and North-eastern Attica. All respondents were given a questionnaire of 45 questions, which included 6 questions of demographic content, Slaby’s on “Attitude towards interpersonal peer violence” questionnaire and Swartz’s “Exposure to Community Violence” questionnaire.
Results: 94,7% of the respondents has been exposed, at least once, in a form of community violence, either as a victim or a witness. The highest percentage of exposure was recorded among children of Western Attica (97,7%) as opposed to children of Northeastern Attica (90, 6%, p<0,05). Exposure to violence as witness was seen in 93,3% of children with most of them being from Western Attica (97,7%, against 87,5% of Northeastern Attica). Exposure to violence as victims was declared by 68% of children; most of them come from Western Attica (70, 9% against 64, 1% of Northeastern Attica) , nevertheless, children of Northeastern Attica gave higher scores regarding the exposure level. Regarding children’s perceptions of violence was noticed minor negative correlation (28,2%, p<0,01) which demonstrates that the higher the exposure to violence, the poorer the children’s knowledge and abilities in resolving problems in a peaceful manner, making them more prone to violence. As far as sex is concerned, statistically was noticed a significant difference; females are more likely to avoid violence in comparison to males. Nevertheless, 80, 5% of females from Northeastern Attica agrees with the idea to hit someone who has already hit them, in comparison to males of the same area (64, 3%).
Conclusions: Living environment play a major role in forming children’s perceptions of violence, exposure to violence and pinpoints a great risk factor in future development of youth violence.
Keywords:
Victimization, Exposure to violence, Community violence, Youth violence, Formation of perception
