Peer-reviewed article
Investigation of Violence Against Children in Schools with Types and Related Variables: Kosovo Sample
Armen Mustafa ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study surveyed 618 secondary school students in Prishtina, Kosovo about their experiences of violence at school. The researchers found that 87% of students had experienced at least one type of violence during their education. Property damage was the most common form (74%), followed by psychological violence (69%), physical violence (48%), and sexual violence (22%). The study found that gender, residence, and age were related to different types of violence exposure.
Key points
- 87% of students reported experiencing at least one type of violence in school
- Violence against property was most prevalent at 73.6%
- Psychological violence affected 69.3% of students
- Physical violence was reported by 47.5% of students
- Sexual violence was reported by 22.1% of students
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional survey that describes the prevalence of violence but cannot establish causation or the effectiveness of any interventions. The study does not explain why these demographic factors are influential or provide information about the severity or impact of violence on student outcomes.
Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to conduct an investigation on the level (extent) of violence against children in school, on types of violence and on the relationship between violence and demographic characteristics of children (gender, residence and age). This study focused on a sample group of 618 children, respectively students of grades 10 to 12 of higher secondary schools in Prishtina, Kosovo. With this sample group a structured questionnaire applied, which was composed of four (4) questions for each of the following types of violence: violence against the property of children and school property, psychological violence, physical violence and sexual violence. Results of this study have shown that approximately 87% of children have experienced, at least, once one type of violence throughout their education. Among these types of violence, violence against the property of children and against school property has been reported the most (73.6%), which is followed by psychological violence (69.3%), then physical violence (47.5%) and sexual violence (22.1%). Data have shown that in the level of reliability α = 0.5, gender as a demographic factor has appeared to be more influential in the prevalence of some types of violence (violence against property, psychological violence and physical violence), residence has appeared to be influential when speaking about physical violence only, while age has been shown to be an influential factor in the prevalence of violence against children in school.