Youth and Violence in Europe

• NCJ Number: 163209
• Journal: Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention Volume: 5 Issue: 1 Dated: (1996) Pages: 31-58
• Author(s): J Junger-Tas
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 28 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: Sweden
• Note: Youth Violence and Guns.

Annotation

After examining some specific forms of violent behavior in Europe, this study analyzes quantitative data on youth violence in a number of European countries.

Abstract

Specific forms of violence addressed are football hooliganism, violence in schools, and violence against specific groups of people. The study found a strong relation between the abuse of alcohol and violent crime in general, but alcohol use cannot be viewed as an independent cause of football hooliganism. Another possible causal factor in violent behavior is the sensational coverage by the media that gives attention and recognition to those who commit violence, thus contributing to increased peer status; however, publicity in itself does not cause football hooliganism. The study concludes that football hooligans tend to manifest violent behavior in other circumstances and commit other offenses as well. Thus, violence at football games is an expression of more generalized offending behavior. Two types of school violence are analyzed: violence against teachers and school bullying. There are not many studies on student violence against teachers, and there is a need for more valid research on this subject. More is known about bullying behavior. Bullies have an aggressive personality and receive attention because of their violent behavior. They come from troubled family situations and have parents who use erratic and harsh disciplinary methods, often escalating to physical abuse. Two groups of victims are analyzed as targets of specific violence against special groups: parents, as an aspect of family violence, and homosexuals, as an aspect of discriminatory hate violence. The study's general conclusion is that juveniles and adults who commit violent acts are deviant in more than one respect. In the second part of the study, quantitative data on violence in Europe are presented and discussed. Police statistics and victimization studies are discussed to answer the important question about whether the level of violent offending shows a rising trend in Europe. 8 tables and 54 references