Peer victimization and intentional injuries: Quantitative and qualitative accounts of injurious physical interactions between students

UNLABELLED: Studies have shown that peer victimization engenders physical injuries both indirectly (i.e. as a trigger of injurious events) and directly (i.e. through intentional physical harm). How those injuries occur has not been much researched. OBJECTIVE: To highlight the various circumstances in which injuries are sustained by young teenagers when physically interacting with other students, and to characterize more specifically the context surrounding those injuries sustained resulting from violent actions. METHOD: Data were extracted from information already available from structured interviews conducted during two consecutive school years with children aged 10-15 years who had been hospitalized due to injury and who were residing in Stockholm County (Sweden) (n = 634). The current study considers those injuries resulting from physical interactions between students and pays attention to the gender and age distribution of the victims. The free text descriptions of the "interaction" injuries resulting from violent actions were re-read and examined by means of content analysis. RESULTS: Of the injuries reported, 23.5% resulted from physical interactions between students. The most frequent context of their occurrence was sports and play. Other injuries resulted either from assaults where the victim was in a clear imbalance of power (n = 24) or from violent incidents in which the victim was not powerless (n = 27). The two latter situations were much more common among boys. CONCLUSION: Peer victimization has an impact on children's safety both within and outside the school arena. Students are injured by their peers not only from deliberate violence targeting them but also from violent physical interactions in which they play an active role. These injurious events have a clear gender and age component.