Occurrence of violence and violence-related injuries among 12-18 year-old Finns.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence, nature, and severity of violence and violence-related injuries, and the occurrence of alcohol-related violence among Finnish adolescents.

METHODS

A 12-page questionnaire was mailed to a nationwide representative sample of 12-, 14-, 16-, and 18-year-olds (n = 10,883). The response rate was 75%.

RESULTS

Of the 8,135 respondents, 7.9% (646) reported violence occurrence and 1.7% violence-related injury during the past month. The male-female ratio for violence occurrence was 1.9 (95% CI 1.6-2.2) and for violence-related injury occurrence 0.8 (95% CI 0.6-1.2). Sixteen-year-old girls reported the highest injury rate (23/1,000). Most typically, the violent persons were individuals known by the victim before the incident. Girls were significantly (p < 0.001) more often (43%) in a fight with, or assailed by, a family member than boys (8%). Although boys' violent actions were related to leisure-time activities (64%), violence rarely took place during sports activities. Alcohol-related violence increased with age. Some 13% of 14-year-olds reported being under the influence of alcohol at the time of violence. The corresponding figures for 16- and 18-year-olds were 41% and 62%, respectively. Moreover, alcohol was closely associated with violence-related injuries.

CONCLUSIONS

Violence is common among Finnish adolescents. While violence does not always lead to injury, related injuries are an important cause of adolescent morbidity. Alcohol seems to be strongly associated with adolescent violence and related injuries.