Aggresssion in School Children: Role of Gender, Family Factors and Exposure to Violence

Abstract

AbstractINTRODUCTIONIncreasing instances of aggression in school children has become a cause of great concern for educationists, parents and mental health professionals. With increased globalization and information overload, today’s child is exposed to influences which probably adversely modify the child’s behavior. These aggressive tendencies could affect the child’s academic, social functioning and also may lead to psychiatric problems. Hence, this study was planned to find out the amount of aggression among school children and various potential contributing factors for the aggressive behavior. Identifying these risk factors could help design preventive strategies among school children.OBJECTIVETo evaluate the amount of aggression and its contributing factors among 10-12 year-old children.SUBJECTSThe subjects involved the school children and their teachers in various schools across Mumbai. The age group of study was 10-12 years i.e. class 5th to class 8thNo. of subjects:-102STUDY PROCEDUREA total of 102, 10-12 year-old school children (5th to 8th class) in the Mumbai metropolitan area were interviewed to assess the presence of aggression. A validated scale, Children’s Aggression Scale – Teacher version (CAS-T), was used to assess the presence of aggression. Children were assessed & scored on basis of this scale with questions answered by their teachers. Data was analyzed on the basis of each factor using unpaired t-test, ANOVA test and Kruskal-Wallis Test (Nonparametric ANOVA). Institutional ethics committee approval was taken for research at Seth GS Medical College, Mumbai, India.RESULTSA high level of aggression was present in 4% other children while moderate levels were present in 8%. Boys were found to be more aggressive than girls (p-value 0.003). Aggression scores were significantly higher in children from English medium and with poor academic performance. Children exposed to physical abuse and violence on Television showed significantly high aggression. Perceived parental conflict in boys was found to be significantly associated with lower aggression scores. Among the various factors studied, aggression scores showed highest correlation with exposure to violence on television for more than 2 hours/day (11.67 vs 3.19 p-value <0.001).CONCLUSIONAbout 12% of schoolchildren in the 10-12years group show aggressive behavior needing interventions. Boys from abusive families, with poor academic performance and exposed to excessive violence on TV seem particularly at risk for developing aggressive behavior.