Trends in verbal bullying, domestic violence, and involvement in fights with frearms among adolescents in Brazilian state capitals from 2009 to 2015

Abstract

This study analyzes time trends in verbal bullying, domestic violence, and involvement in fights with firearms among adolescents in Brazilian state capitals from 2009 to 2015. The study of trends uses data from the Brazilian National Survey of School Health (PeNSE) in 2009, 2012, and 2015 among ninth-graders enrolled in public and private schools in the country's 26 state capitals and the Federal District. The analysis focused on domestic violence, verbal bullying, and involvement in fights with cold steel weapons and firearms in the 30 days prior to the interview. Logistic regression was performed, adjusted for sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics, with analysis of each type of violence in Brazil and in the capital cities, according to sex. The trends were spatialized. For the capital cities as a whole, from 2009 to 2015 there was an increase of 12% (95%CI: 1.11-1.14) in domestic violence, 10% (95%CI: 1.08-1.11) in verbal bullying, and 7% (95%CI: 1.05-1.09) and 7% (95%CI: 1.05-1.08) in involvement in fights with firearms and cold steel weapons, respectively. Domestic violence increased in all the capital cities. In 96.3%, 70.4%, and 62.9% of the capital cities, respectively, there were increases in verbal bullying and involvement in fights with cold steel weapons and firearms, while there were stationary trends in the other capital cities. There was an upward trend in these forms of violence in the majority of the capital cities, evidencing the need to implement public policies to mitigation the different types of violence among adolescents.