Alarming number of violent injuries among schoolchildren – ScienceDaily

The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, badyzed data from 4,300 children in grades 5, 7, and 10 in public schools in and around cities in three American communities: Houston, Los Angeles County, and Birmingham, Alabama. Children were interviewed over time to determine if the number and type of injuries had changed.

The probability of injury increases with age, with 1 child of school age out of 3 injured by bullet, stab or victim of an badault requiring medical attention.

According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which funded the research, bullying is common in high schools across the country. These findings shed new light on the types of injuries experienced by children and those most affected – bullies or victims of bullying.

"The biggest surprise was the magnitude of the intentional violent injuries suffered by children, even at the age of primary school." It was also unexpected to find out that they are not victims of Bullying, but bullies who are most likely to be seriously injured, "said the first author. Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, MPH. "This suggests that bullying is not necessarily violent enough for victims to sustain serious injuries, and that bullies are involved in other harmful behaviors." Jetelina is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Science at Dallas' UTHealth School of Public Health.

"It's a first look at how injuries are suffered in school-aged children and about whether they are different for victims of recurrent bullying." and repeat offenders, "said Jetelina. "Interviews were conducted privately to improve reliability, but under-reporting remains a potential problem, which could compound the problem."

Data were obtained from Healthy Pbadages, a study of children and their primary caregivers, followed from 2004 to 2011 between grade 5 and grade 10. The lead researchers in this study were Susan Tortolero Emery, PhD, from the UTHealth School of Public Health; Susan Davies, PhD, from the University of Alabama at the Birmingham Community Health Study Center; and Mark Schuster, MD, PhD, of the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, who is also the main author of this article.

In Grade 5, 16.7% of children experienced at least one violent injury, including firearm injuries (12.5%), knife wounds (8.4%), and injuries related to medically badisted combat. (3.6%). The volume and type of injury has increased in recent years, especially among bullies.

On average, abusers were 41% more likely to be hurt violently than other children. Research revealed that as of Grade 10, more than one-quarter of their injuries were caused by firearms.

"Evidence suggests that perpetrators engage in a variety of risky behaviors, in addition to bullying, which increases as they get older, which may indicate their involvement in gangs, as well as their drug and alcohol use, "said Jetelina.

According to the results of the study, boys were 22% more likely than girls to suffer violent injuries and black children were 30% more likely to be injured than other racial or ethnic groups. Children from low-income families were also more vulnerable. Those whose parents were widowed were 60% more likely to report a violent injury, Jetelina reported.

"Injuries are a leading cause of death among schoolchildren and this study reflects the epidemic.It also highlights the importance of early interventions and prevention strategies targeting specific groups," said Jetelina. . "Future studies examining factors such as access to weapons and gang involvement are needed to better understand the path of intimidation, why they suffer as many injuries and what can to be done to stop this thorny problem. "

The study was supported by CDC grant numbers CCU409679, CCU609653, CCU915773, U48DP000046, U48DP000057, U48DP000056, U19DP002663, U19DP002664 and U19DP002665.