Violence Perpetration in Early Adolescence: A Study of Four Urban Communities Worldwide

Purpose Violence perpetration is common among adolescents worldwide but existing research largely focuses on boys, older adolescents, and partner violence. Our study sought to identify individual, family, and neighborhood/peer factors associated with violence perpetration in a multinational sample of male and female young adolescents. Methods We used cross-sectional data from 5,762 adolescents in four sites in the Global Early Adolescent Study: Flanders, Belgium; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Shanghai, China; and Semarang, Indonesia. Adolescents resided in high-poverty urban areas and were aged 10 to 14 years. Logistic regression examined pooled and stratified associations between independent variables with peer violence perpetration in the past six months. Factors included media viewing habits, gender norms, victimization, agency/empowerment, adversity, depression, familial relationships, neighborhood cohesion, and peer behaviors. Results Restricted-model analyses found increased odds of violence perpetration associated with high media consumption, pornography viewing, violence or bullying victimization, having drank alcohol, depressive symptoms, adverse childhood experiences, greater behavioral control, greater decision-making, feeling unsafe in the neighborhood/school, peer alcohol/tobacco use, and witnessing peers start a fight. Decreased odds of violence perpetration were associated with more egalitarian views on two gender norms scales, closer parental relationships, neighbors looking out for one another, and greater availability of adult help. Discussion Among young adolescents, increased odds of violence perpetration were related to a perceived lack of safety and risky peer behaviors. Parental and neighborhood connections were often associated with decreased perpetration. Further research examining the interplay of such factors among young adolescents is needed to inform effective intervention and policy.