Social behavior Does violence in the neighborhood make children violent?

Making violence experiences in the home environment make children violent?

The social behavior of children and adolescents is shaped not only by the family but also by the neighborhood. For example, domestic violence has a strong negative impact on adolescents. This has now been found out by an international research group.

Unfavorable mental development

In Europe, disturbances in social behavior are among the most common reasons for enrolling in child and adolescent psychiatric services. These disorders are characterized by oppositional, aggressive and dissocial behavior (dissocialism) and are often associated with unfavorable mental development. Those at risk are at high risk of dropping out, lacking occupational integration, developing mental illness or crime.

Children and adolescents who are confronted with violence in their home environment show greater antisocial behavior. This is the conclusion of an international study. (Image: fpic / fotolia.com)

Influence on the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior

Researchers led by project coordinator Prof. Christine M. Freitag, director of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at the University Hospital Frankfurt, have investigated the extent to which domestic violence has a negative impact on the development of aggressive and antisocial behavior may have.

Such experiences of violence may be, for example, experienced or observed brawls, persecutions or threats.

The study is part of the FemNAT-CD research project, a large Europe-wide EU-funded consortium that aims to better understand the interplay of psychosocial and genetic factors in social behavior disorders.

The results of the study were published in the journal "Frontiers of Behavioral Neuroscience Research".

Essential factor in the development of disorders of social behavior

The researchers examined a total of 1,178 children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 from seven European countries.

The study included children and adolescents with a diagnosed disorder of social behavior (516 subjects) as well as healthy children and adolescents (662 subjects) for the first time.

The results show that children and adolescents with frequent experiences of violence in their living environment are more likely to have antisocial behavior than children and adolescents without such experience.

"This does not only apply to children and adolescents who previously had behavioral problems, but also to healthy people. The study thus clearly shows that experiences of violence are a major factor in the development of disorders of social behavior and aggressive behavior of children and adolescents, "explains Prof. Freitag in a statement.

Break the vicious circle with prevention

According to the authors, the results could help develop preventive programs and encourage initiatives to support children and adolescents who have already had such violent experiences.

"The study suggests that efforts to establish prevention programs in areas of high crime and crime rates should be stepped up," says Prof. Christina Stadler from the University Psychiatric Clinics Basel, who were also instrumental in the study.

"The aim is to prevent the potential isolation of young people with a lot of experience of violence and thus interrupt the dangerous vicious circle of violence and violence," said the expert. (Ad)