Resilience as a protective factor towards violent beliefs and attitudes of university students in the educational field

Introduction. The justification of violence based on gender and minorities is supported on differential socialization processes, so that resilience against the phenomena of violence in the university is very important. It constitutes a collective resource for coping with situations of violence. Method. 406 university students, from the University of Jaen (Spain), of whom 77.8% were female and 22.2% male, with a mean age of 23.68 years (+/- 7.03) have participated in this research. The instruments used were: The 14-Item Resilience Scale (RS-14) and the Questionnaire of Attitudes towards Diversity and Violence (CADV). The aim was to determine the relationship between Resilience and attitudes towards diversity and violence of university students. Results. Results show that, regarding gender, in the dimensions justification of violence and sexist beliefs, men present higher rates, while, in personal competence, where women obtained higher scores (p<.05). Regression analysis confirms the predictive value of resilience on personal competence; acceptance of oneself and of life; and tolerant beliefs and rejection of violence. Discussion and conclusions. Findings suggest important and necessary implications for enhancing prevention and intervention strategies on violent attitudes in the university context.