Risk Behaviors Related to Inter-personal Violence Among School and College-going Adolescents in South Delhi

BACKGROUND: Injuries are a major cause of death and disability among the adolescents in the world. OBJECTIVE: To study risk behavior related to interpersonal violence amongst school- and college-going adolescents in South Delhi and its epidemiological correlates. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Three schools and two colleges in South Delhi. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred and fifty adolescents aged 14-19 years. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Proportions, Chi-square test, multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Among the study participants, 65 (11.8%) reported having carried a weapon in past 30 days. Seventy-four (13.5%) respondents had threatened or injured someone with a weapon in past 12 months. Almost one in every two boys (49.1%) reported being involved in a physical fight in past 12 months. Involvement in interpersonal violence was found to be significantly more amongst males than females. Adolescents who were working part time were more likely to be ‘at risk’ (67.5%) than those not working (48.5%). In logistic regression analysis, the significant correlates of interpersonal violence were male gender, lower age, number of close friends, having seen role models smoke/drink, and residing in resettlement colonies, slums or villages. The findings regarding violence-related behaviors among adolescents are remarkably similar to those in other countries.