The relationship between family violence and teenage aggressiveness

The following is an exploratory study on family violence in two different schools, public and the other private, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. Seventy-six families were interviewed, 36 with adolescents classified as aggressive by teachers and 40 with non-aggressive adolescents. Total number of subjects was 213. Physical and severe violence, frequent or occasional, was present in more than half of the sample: 41 reports - 53.9%. A third of the cases occurred in the private school (37%), with twice as many in the public school (63%). However, rates of severe or frequent episodes were similar in both schools. The relationship between violent behavior by teenagers and physical punishment by parents was significant. That is, aggressive adolescents were punished more than non-aggressive ones (odds ratio = 4.3). Prevalence of physical abuse was higher in the older, male teenager group, in the presence of sibling aggression, and in low-income and dysfunctional families. The study shows that physical abuse is more present in society than we would like to imagine.