Adolessente se ervaring van gewelddadige episodes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish what the extent, nature and impact of experiences of violence are of adolescents in the lkageng and Promosa townships, and how they cope in their life situations. To attain the aims of this investigation, a single cross-sectional survey design was used. The research group consisted of 301 respondents who were recruited by means of an availability sample from Botoka High School, lkageng and Promosa Secondary. The experiences of these adolescents were evaluated by means of the Survey of Exposure to Community Violence (SECV) (Richters & Saltzman, 1990), The Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children (TSCC) (Briere, 1996), and the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences Inventory (A Cope) (Patterson & McCabbin, 1987). From the results it appears that adolescents in these particular schools experience a large variety of violent episodes in their lives, which mainly occur on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. These experiences of violence occur in the context of the home, the school and the community. Violence is experienced as a victim or as a witness, but is also committed as an aggressor. The patterns of the frequence of types of experiences of violence as victim, witness or aggressor correspond. Violence, which is often experienced in the home as a victim, is that of being clouted,

pinched and of being threatened with physical violence. More than a quarter of the adolescents reported having had the experience of being hit, stabbed or attacked with a knife, raided, physically assaulted, gangster chased, police violated, and of being involved in fist fights. Violent crimes that are often observed in the home, are fist fights. More than half of the adolescents were witnesses of threats with a knife and physical violence, hitting, knife assaults, raids, physical attacks, verbal attacks, gangster-related chases, arrests, police violence, drug trade, and drug use. More than a quarter of these adolescents were observers in the home of sexual abuse (29,7%), murder (27,6%), suicide (27,9%), and of a corpse (34,2%). Some adolescents also commit many violent crimes in the home, such as hitting others, attacking them verbally, participating in gangster chases, and approaching others for drug trade. In the context of the home 8,7% of this research group commit rape and 12,8% commit sexual abuse. In the school adolescents are victims of verbal attacks and threats of physical violence. More than half of the research group are victims of hitting, physical assaults, verbal attacks, and fist fights. Violent crimes observed by more than a quarter of these adolescents are knife threatening and physical violence, physical assaults, fist fighting, gangster fights, drug trade, and drug use. A high percentage of adolescents are observers of sexual abuse (29,7%), rape (23,3%), murder (25,9%), suicide (21 ,6%), and of a corpse (16,4%) in the school context. Of this research group, 17% commit sexual abuse and 14,6% commit rape in the school context. Some adolescents also commit violent crimes at school such as fist fights, gangster chases and drug trade. In the community these adolescents are victims of fist fights and verbal attacks. More than half of the research group were victims of being threatened with physical violence, physical assaults, gangster chases, police violence, fist fights, and drug abuse. More than 80% of the adolescents were observers of clouting and pinching, hitting, knife attacks and stabbing, raids, physical assaults, gangster chases, arrests, gangster fights, and drug use in the context of the community. More than half of the adolescents were observers of rape (52%), murder (56,6%), suicide (55, 1 %), and of a corpse (60,8%) in the community. Sexual abuse was reported by 27, 1 % of these

adolescents and rape by 16,6% in the context of the community. Specific investigation was also undertaken into violent crimes in the context of taverns. It was found that more than a quarter of the adolescents experience violent crimes as victims, observers and aggressors in this context. It was established that most of the violent crimes were experienced as victims, observers and aggressors in the context of the community. It is evident that adolescents between 18 and 19 years of age and those in grade group 8 commit most of the violent crimes. Botoka High School experiences most of the violent crimes, and boys experience and commit more violent crimes than girls. Adolescents who live with friends and with their single-parent mothers experience most of the violent crimes. The coping strategies of those with high levels of trauma symptomatology, differ in certain respects from those with low levels of trauma symptoms. Adolescents in the present research group show signs of trauma, as is evident from symptoms of dissosiation, fantasies, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. Adolescents mainly use avoidance coping strategies and direct action behaviour in order to increase sources. Recommendations were made for an intervention programme with the facilitation of constructive coping strategies and the decrease of the spiral of violence in mind.