Perceived Experiences of Community Violence Among Adolescents: A School Survey From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Community violence (CV) is a global public health problem due to its high frequency and severe consequences. Although CV is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents, little is known about the everyday CV situations that do not lead to death. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of exposure to and involvement in CV situations among adolescent students from public and private schools in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This was a cross-sectional study of 693 individuals in their second year of high school selected through stratified multistage random sampling. Information about their exposure to and involvement in CV was collected through a self-completed multidimensional questionnaire in the classrooms. For approximately 30% of the adolescents, someone close to them had been murdered, and 40% had already seen the corpse of a victim of homicide. Seventeen percent reported having been directly involved in CV situations. Approximately 38%, 13%, and 25% had been victims of robberies, interpersonal aggression, and death threats to either themselves or their relatives, respectively. Many of these situations occurred more than once. In general, CV was more frequently reported by boys and by those who did not live with both parents. Adolescents from higher economic classes experienced more interpersonal aggression and felt a greater need to carry a gun. Those who belonged to the lower economic classes and studied in public schools were more exposed to lethal violence than other students. The results call attention to the very high percentage of adolescent students that are involved in CV situations as well as to the differences in violence rates among population subgroups. Such findings should be considered when planning CV prevention and management actions in schools and other socialization spaces for adolescents.