Aggression and violence in the opinion of polish children and youth

The aim of the article is to present the results of an empirical study made in one day (the 18th January 2001) in Poznań (ca 800 000 inhabitants) among students of all types of schools: primary, secondary and grammar/vocational. The total number of investigated students was 46 960. We used a 14-item questionnaire (and 13 items questionnaire for the third grade students of primary schools - without the question about contact with drugs). The main empirical problems were as follows: the way from home to school and back, the feeling of safety at various places of the city, students as victims and observers of aggression or violence acts, authors of aggression or violence acts in the opinion of students (peers or adults), who was informed about aggression experienced by students (parents, siblings, friend, teacher, a policeman, nobody), contact with drugs (frequency and places with drug peddling). The results revealed the following: (a) relatively high level of personal safety among students of all age groups, (b) the lowest feeling of safety was connected with places where girls and boys of all types of schools spend their free time, (c) the risk group were the groups of secondary school students, both girls and boys (13-15 years old), (d) boys of all age groups experienced more often various aggression and violence acts than girls, (e) a lot of students had contact with drugs at school and in places where they spent their free time.