Victims of Physical Violence Have a Higher Risk to Be Perpetrators: A Study in High School Students Population

BACKGROUND: Violence experienced by a person can trigger mental disorders. It was reported that 1 in 4 children in the world had experienced severe and sustained physical violence. The form of violence varies from various bullying actions that seem mild, to deadly physical violence. AIM: This study aimed to see the association between the victim and perpetrator of violence in high school students. METHODS: A Hundred and Forty-Four high school students were chosen by stratified random sampling. They were assessed using Hurt, Insulted, threatened with harm, and Screamed (HITS) assessment tool. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis were used in this analysis, along with a cross-tabulation table. RESULTS: Out of the 144 subjects, 66 (45.8%) admitted that they experienced violence in different gradations. A total of 34 (47.2%) respondents revealed that the perpetrators of the most frequent acts of violence were either one or both of their parents. The odds ratio (OR) of the subjects who experienced violence to commit violence is 3.571 (Confidence Interval (CI) 95% = 1.792-7.120). CONCLUSION: More than 60% of high school students who experienced acts of violence turned out to experience more than one type of violence. The most frequent perpetrators of violence are the parents (47.2%), followed by friends and siblings. Those who experienced violent acts are 3.5 times more likely to become a perpetrator of violence.