The perception of violence: A study of factors affecting the perceptions of violence in university students
Abstract
Objective: This study determined the family and personal characteristics as well as the risk factors pertaining to students in the 1st and 2nd years of three Faculties at Hacettepe University in order to understand the factors that affect their perceptions of violence.
Method: A total of 904 university students were reached. An informed consent form was attached to the questionnaire and students were asked to fill the questionnaire after giving their consent. Students were given 16 descriptions of behaviors involving violence, and they were asked to name this behavior as violence or not. The individuals who named an act as violent was given "1" and the total score for all the behaviors ranged from 0 to16. Students with high scores were considered more sensitive towards violence.
Results: The mean scores of female participants were higher than those of male participants. It was found that females were more aware of the violence and the difference between the genders was greater for perceptions of physical and sexual violence. Education and employment status of the parents were associated with the perceptions of young people about violence.
Conclusion: Studies to increase the awareness of violence in males with the aim of reducing violence and its consequences would be a great value.
Keywords
References
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