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Indian Pediatr 2011;48:
984-985 |
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Violence-Related Behaviors and Self-inflicted
Injuries Among 15-18 Year Old Iranian Adolescents |
** Azam Baheiraei, *Zeinab Hamzehgardeshi, *Mohammad Reza
Mohammadi, and ††Saharnaz Nedjat
* Department of Reproductive Health; †Center for
Community-Based Participatory Research; ** Department of Psychiatry,
Psychiatry and Psychology Research Centre; and †† School of
Public Health, Knowledge Utilization Research Center, Tehran University of
Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Correspondence to:
[email protected]
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In this population-based cross-sectional study, we determined the
prevalence of intentional injuries and associated factors among 1201
adolescents in Tehran, Iran. Overall, 63.9% of adolescents had at
least one intentional injury behavior which was significantly higher
in males. Gender preference for males by parents, very high or very
low supervision, waterpipe smoking, and alcohol consumption were
significantly associated with injuries in females. In addition, poor
wealth index, parental punishment and smoking were incriminating
factors in males.
Key words: Adolescents, Behavior, Intentional injuries, Iran.
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We conducted this cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of
intentional injuries (violence-associated behaviors and self-injury) and
their association with socio-demographic characteristics among 1201, 15-18
years old adolescents in Tehran, Iran. For collecting the data, ‘Violence
and Intentional Injuries’ questions of the Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance System were used. The Ethics Committee of Tehran University
of Medical Sciences approved the protocol of the study. The sampling
method was multi-stage random cluster sampling. Data were analyzed using
SPSS software (Ver 16.0) and STATA (Ver 10). The univariate analysis and
multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied.
The mean age of participants (609 females) was 16.74
(1.09). The prevalence of violence-associated behaviors and self-injury in
both genders is presented in Table I. Overall, 63.9% of
studied adolescents had at least one intentional injury behavior which was
significantly higher in males than females (P < 0.0001, OR = 2.52,
95% CI = 1.97-3.22). Gender preference for males by parents [AOR: 1.77];
very high or very low parental supervision [AOR: 2.96 and 2.51]; making
decisions in the family only by the father [AOR: 3.79]; adequate family
income [AOR: 0.32]; lifetime water pipe smoking [AOR: 3.32]; and alcohol
consumption [AOR: 21.24] were factors significantly associated with
intentional injuries in females. In addition, poor wealth index [AOR:
3.42], having been punished by parents [AOR: 0.27] and lifetime water pipe
smoking [AOR: 2.98] were factors significantly associated with intentional
injuries in males.
TABLE I Violence-related Behaviors and Self-inflicted Injuries Among Adolescents
Violence-related behaviors |
Female n=609 |
Male n=592 |
Total n=1201 |
P |
and self-inflicted injuries |
% |
CI |
% |
CI |
% |
CI |
value |
Carrying a cold weapon* |
15.2 |
18.26-20.40 |
20.7 |
17.45-24.13 |
18 |
15.85-20.28 |
0.007 |
Staying at home because of feeling* |
20.6 |
17.53-24.15 |
15.1 |
12.15-18.11 |
17.9 |
15.73-20.18 |
0.01 |
Being threatened or beaten with |
7.9 |
5.60-9.96 |
20.7 |
17.51-24.21 |
14 |
12.11-16.13 |
0.000 |
cold weapon* |
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Taking part in a physical fight* |
18.4 |
15.42-21.77 |
48 |
43.90-52.17 |
33 |
30.32-35.75 |
0.000 |
Being injured in physical fight |
21.9 |
14.72-30.65 |
29 |
23.77-34.74 |
27 |
31.65-22.64 |
0.15 |
and referring to a healthcare center* |
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Being hit, slap, or physically hurt |
5.8 |
4.04-7.91 |
4.8 |
3.20-6.84 |
5.3 |
4.10-6.74 |
0.48 |
by a boyfriend or girlfriend# |
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Being physically forced into sexual |
7.5 |
5.53-9.92 |
4.4 |
2.89-6.47 |
6 |
4.72-7.54 |
0.03 |
relationship |
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Exposure to bullying by others# |
12 |
9.53-14.86 |
24.6 |
21.17-28.31 |
18.2 |
16.04-20.50 |
0.000 |
Feeling despair and sadness# |
42.2 |
38.18-46.27 |
44.3 |
40.17-48.39 |
43.2 |
40.36-46.09 |
0.47 |
Having suicidal thoughts# |
16 |
13.16-19.18 |
11.1 |
8.63-13.87 |
13.6 |
11.65-15.63 |
0.008 |
Having a serious plan for suicide#† |
42.2 |
31.88-53.09 |
64.1 |
51.10-75.68 |
51.3 |
43.12-59.42 |
0.01 |
Trying suicide#† |
38 |
28.11-48.76 |
38.1 |
26.14-51.20 |
38.1 |
30.39-46.20 |
0.47 |
During the last 30 days; #During the last 12 months;
†Among the 26.6% of the adolescents who had the experience of smoking.
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In public high school students of Tehran, the rate of
intentional injuries has been reported to be 58.5% [1] . It seems that the
cause of the higher prevalence of such behaviors in this study is due to
differences in the studied population. The current study was home-based
and all adolescents had the chance to participate in the study. Although
the prevalence of violence-related behaviors in this study was lower than
that of other parts of the world [2], the prevalence of some behaviors
such as participation in physical fighting and being injured was higher
than that of 12-19 year old students in Malaysia [3]. Consistent with
other studies, the current results show that socio-demographic factors are
effective factors in committing violence-related behaviors [3-5].
The obtained findings indicate high prevalence of
intentional injuries among adolescents, particularly males. Since numerous
studies report effectiveness of rage control programs in preventing
violence, planning for such programs and workshops can have a significant
role in decreasing violent behaviors among adolescents.
Acknowledgements: Eesa Mohammadi (Tarbiat
Modares University) for helpful and useful comments.
Funding: Tehran University of Medical Sciences
(TUMS); Grant No 89-01-28-10494.
Competing interests: None stated.
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