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Adolescence a Bigger Battlefield Than Most Adults Know, Study Finds
Filed under: In The News, Bullying, Research Reveals: Teens
Nearly 60 percent of teens reported abuse in a recent study, but less than half reported it. Credit: Getty
If Archie comics were real, Archie would pound the snot out of Jughead just for wearing that stupid hat and Reggie would slip Veronica a roofie.
And Mr. Weatherbee, the school principal, would never hear anything about it.
That's because adolescent life is never as idyllic as adults like to paint it. Far from it. In fact, Business Week reports that nearly 60 percent of kids between 10 and 17 say they have been the victims of violence, abuse or crime in the past year.
Not that police, parents or school officials know what's going on -- fewer than half these kids say they report such incidents.
Researchers led by David Finkelhor of the University of New Hampshire, surveyed more than 4,500 teens and parents in 2008.
Some 58 percent said they'd been victimized in the past year, including instances of bullying. However, only 46 percent of kids said authorities had a clue about what was happening.
Authorities were alerted to things such as sexual assault, kidnapping and gang or group assaults, but kids generally kept emotional bullying, neglect and theft to themselves. They were also less likely to report date and statutory rape, sexual exposure and assaults by peers and siblings.
"Childhood/adolescent abuse is frequently described as a hidden problem, and victimization studies regularly have shown that much abuse goes undisclosed," the study authors write. "The hidden nature of childhood victimization has multiple sources. Clearly, children and adolescents are easily intimidated by offenders and fear retaliation."
The authors say teens and their parents often choose to keep the cops and courts of of it, dealing with incidents inside the family.
"The study also shows that a considerable portion of childhood/adolescent exposure to victimization is still unknown to authorities," the authors write. "The study suggests that outreach needs to be particularly enhanced toward boys, Hispanics and higher-income groups. It also suggests that disclosure promotion should be directed toward episodes that involve family members and peer perpetrators."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-06-2011 @ 2:30AM
Alicia said...It's hard to report certain things when you're in school, especially things like sexual assault and rape. You have t live with your attacker you don't know if their friends will retaliate (hint: probably) and you have a reputation that, if ruined, could make your life living hell for the next four years or s. An ex tried to rape me when I was a sophomore. i never reported it, because I'd allowed him to come over when my mom wasn't home to give me back a movie he'd borrowed. Thank god my dog jumped on him and bit him until he got off me and left, but I never reported. I didn't want to upset my mom or deal with him, his friends or the authorities. The idea terrified me, especially when I was in several of his classes and the school had already proved incompetent of enforcing restraining orders.
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