Temporal trends of physical fights and physical attacks among adolescents aged 12-15 years from 30 countries from Africa, Asia, and the Americas
Purpose
There is a scarcity of literature on temporal trends in physical fighting and physical attacks among the global adolescent population. Therefore, we aimed to examine these trends in a nationally representative sample of school-going adolescents aged 12–15 years from 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, for which temporal trends of physical fighting and physical attacks are largely unknown.
Methods
Cross-sectional data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey 2003–2017 were analyzed. Self-reported data on past 12-month physical fights and physical attacks were collected. For each survey, the prevalence and 95% confidence interval of physical fights and physical attacks were calculated. Linear regression models were used to examine crude linear trends.
Results
Data on 190,493 students aged 12–15 years were analyzed [mean (standard deviation) age 13.7 (1.0) years; 48.9% boys]. The mean prevalence of past 12-month physical fight and physical attack was 36.5% and 37.2%, respectively. Significant decreasing trends in physical fights were observed in 16/30 countries, while significant increasing trends were found in 2/30 countries. For physical attacks, significant decreasing and increasing trends were observed in 13/26 and 1/26 countries, respectively. The remaining countries showed stable trends.
Discussion
It is encouraging that decreasing trends in physical fighting and physical attacks were observed across a large number of countries. However, stable trends were also common, while increasing trends also existed, suggesting that global efforts to address adolescent violence are still required.
History
Refereed
- Yes
Publication title
Journal of Adolescent HealthISSN
1054-139XExternal DOI
Publisher
ElsevierFile version
- Published version
Item sub-type
ArticleAffiliated with
- School of Psychology and Sport Science Outputs