Abstract
This paper presents the results of a qualitative study on the social representation of violence among young Chileans who have been involved in violence. Starting from interview-data that show their subjective perspective, a conceptual model of their social representation is constructed that identifies elements that favor or inhibit the violent actions. Results show two types of factors involved in the transgression of the "limit of violence": personal characteristics and contextual elements, making the distinction between the temporal context (the moment of violence) and the spatial context (the place of violence). In addition, the young participants of this study establish a relationship between their violent actions and the perception of threat, especially regarding their social identity. In this relationship, the function of violent actions is the neutralization of this threat. This understanding constitutes the nucleus of their social representation of violence. Implications for preventive strategies and community interventions are discussed. This work presents the results of a qualitative study on the social representation of violence among young Chileans who have been involved in violence. Starting from interview-data that show their subjective perspective, a conceptual model of their social representation is constructed that identifies elements that favor or inhibit the violent actions. Results show that these young people’s social representations of violence include two types of factors involved in the transgression of the “limit of violence”: personal characteristics and contextual elements, making the distinction between the temporal context (the moment of violence) and the spatial context (the place of violence). With regard to these contextual elements, the subjective meaning is more important than the moments or places by themselves. In addition, the young participants of this study establish a relationship between their violent actions and the perception of threat, especially regarding their social identity. In this relationship, the function of violent actions is the neutralization of this threat. This understanding constitutes the nucleus of their social representation of violence. Implications for community interventions are discussed. [1] This research received financial support from Fundación Paz Ciudadana, Chile.
Highlights
There is more statistical evidence on the matter than information regarding the subjectivity of the participants. Responding to this lack of information, this article seeks to address the problem of youth violence from the perspective of young people involved in behaviours classified by them as violent
Statistics support the communicational relevance of the phenomenon, since around 30% of the youngsters have been victims of these types of situations. Half of these have occurred in the context of relations with friends or at least known perpetrators (Instituto Nacional de la Juventud, 2009), being important the different types of violence exercised by peers in schools (Ministerio del Interior, 2011)
The main findings of this study can be organised in two. The first describes those factors or elements that allow us to understand the upsurge of juvenile violence, answering the question: Which are the intervening elements that make youths transgress the limit of violence, according to their own social representation? The second level of analysis organises the various factors mentioned around a central theme answering the question: What concepts stand in the nucleus of the social representation these young people have about violence?
Summary
There is more statistical evidence on the matter than information regarding the subjectivity of the participants Responding to this lack of information, this article seeks to address the problem of youth violence from the perspective of young people involved in behaviours classified by them as violent. Statistics support the communicational relevance of the phenomenon, since around 30% of the youngsters have been victims of these types of situations. Half of these have occurred in the context of relations with friends or at least known perpetrators (Instituto Nacional de la Juventud, 2009), being important the different types of violence exercised by peers in schools (Ministerio del Interior, 2011). These data point in the same direction, indicating that youth violence seems to have territorial backgrounds
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