Prevalência de exposição às situações de violência em estudantes adolescentes brasileiros

Abstract

Objective: to describe and compare the indicators corresponding to exposure to situations of violence experienced by in-school adolescents according to gender, type of school and Federation Units in 2015 and 2019. Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study conducted with data from the National School Health Survey (Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar, PeNSE). The prevalence values and their respective 95% confidence intervals (85% CIs) of the indicators corresponding to exposure to situations of violence involving adolescents were described and compared. Results: They pointed out that: 11.6% missed classes due to insecurity on the way (95% CI: 11.1-12.1); 10.8% missed classes due to insecurity at school (95% CI: 10.3-11.2); and the highest prevalence values of violence were recorded among girls and public school students. Among the study indicators, it was found that the prevalence of students who were involved in physical fights was 10.6% (95% CI: 10.2-11.0), in fights with firearm use, 2.9% (95% CI: 2.7-3.1), and in fights with melee weapon use, 4.8% (95% CI: 4.5-5.1), most of them boys who attended public schools. 18.2% (95% CI: 17.7-18.7) reported having suffered an accident or aggression in the last year and 21.0% (95% CI: 20.5-21.6) stated having been assaulted by their mother/father/guardian, most of them from private schools. There were improvements in the following indicators between 2015 and 2019: engaging in a fight involving a firearm, from 6.4% (95% CI: 5.6-7.2) in 2015 to 2.9% (95% CI: 2.7-3.1) in 2019; and engaging in a fight involving a melee weapon, from 7.9% (95% CI: 7.0-8.8) in 2015 to 4.8% (95% CI: 4.5-5.1) in 2019. Conclusion: Adolescents are exposed to several types of violence in the school or community settings, in addition to experiencing violence in the family/domestic environment. These institutions should be capable of ensuring protection and healthy and safe development to adolescents.