Jugendliche in Deutschland als Opfer und Täter von Gewalt. Erster Forschungsbericht zum gemeinsamen Forschungsproject des Bundesinnenministeriums des Innern und des KFN

Dirk Baier, Christian Pfeiffer, Julia Simonson, Susann Rabold

Hannover: KFN-Forschungsbericht Nr.: 107, 2009

German

English

Violence in schools

Research

Policy Makers, Teachers, Researchers, School Directors.

1 - 20 pages

Press release of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI): Overall, for this research project, over 44,000 students of the 9th Grade from 61 German counties or urban districts surveyed. These data were supplemented by data from longitudinal studies that the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) performing regularly since 1998 in German studies. This student survey funded by the Federal Ministery of the Interior and carried out in 2007/2008 in the scientific responsibility of the KFN has led to a first research report, based primarily with youth violence and other forms of juvenile delinquency from the concerned victims as well as from the perpetrator perspective.
This said Wolfgang Schäuble (Federal Interior Minister at this point of time): "For the first time we have meaningful and representative figures from all over Germany about the rise in youth violence, the reporting behavior of victims and promoting factors of youth crime, but also about preventable factors. Until now, only regional limited information and estimates existed. The data provide the necessary reliable basis for subsequent inter-agency actions in federal and state governments. The effectiveness of preventive measures to combat juvenile crime in the respective area of responsibility, basing on these new findings, will be strengthening."
Prof. Dr. Pfeiffer contributed significantly to this study, highlighted as key results: "Based on previous student surveys, which were realized by the KFN since 1998 in ten areas, and today presented findings of the nationwide data collection, we can broadly provide well-grounded statements. Especially is emphasized that youth violence in the cities surveyed since 1998, contrary to the general public perception, largely decreased slightly or at least remained largely constant. A marked increase was reported in a part of the territories for bodily injury. The fact that the police registered a total rising numbers of youth violence is not inconsistent. Thanks to the advertising of the police in schools the willingness of young victims to report violent offences has increased significantly."
To explain the overall, more positive trends Prof. Dr. Pfeiffer referred in particular to decreasing rates of domestic violence against children and adolescents, to an increasing disapproval of youth violence by peers, by teachers and by parents. In addition this research clearly demonstrate that measures to social and educational integration of young people from immigrant backgrounds have preventive effects.

In this published study, by multivariate analysis models, the influence of various factors examined (such as alcohol and drug abuse, violence experience at home, the use of media that glorify violence, school type, immigrant background, etc.) to violent experiences of young people. Here the authors analyze the conditions for both perpetrator and the risks of victimization of young people. For an overview of a brief summary of the main study results is available. The complete final report is available on the website of the Criminological Research Institute.
The Criminological Research Institute is an independent research organization, which receives basic funding from the Lower Saxony Ministry for Science and Culture, but nevertheless it also gets external funding for almost all research projects.

http://www.bmi.bund.de/cae/servlet/contentblob/375768/publicationFile/17958/Studie_kf.pdf

Forschungsbericht Nr. 107.pdf

Press release of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI)