Violencia reactiva e instrumental. La impulsividad como aspecto diferenciador

Abstract

The aim of this research is to analyze the importance of impulsiveness as a distinguishing element between reactive violence and instrumental violence among adolescents in first and second year of secondary school. According to the classification of violence based on the motivational criterion, reactive violence is characterized by high levels of impulsiveness, while planned and premeditated behaviours are characteristic in instrumental violence. This characterization has fully influenced the design of prevention and intervention plans in the filed of school violence, establishing differentiated lines of action for the treatment of each type of violence. The lack of agreement concerning the interconnection that both types of violence hold with each other, i. e., an exclusive and dichotomous relationship versus a relationship of continuity and overlapping, makes it particularly relevant to study the so considered differentiator elements, not only to analyze the violence itself, but also because of the practical implications that these elements may have in the field of educational intervention. The study was carried out with 771 students from five state schools of the Community of Madrid in their first and second year of secondary school. The methodology of this research is based on a quantitative analysis of the data obtained from the application of a instrument called “Questionnaire on Reactive and Instrumental Violence and its relationship with self-control”, designed by the author of this research. From the obtained results we can draw as a conclusion that impulsiveness is present in the violent behaviours developed by teenagers regardless of whether those violent conducts are reactive or instrumental. The practical implications of these results must focus on the design of prevention and educational intervention plans so that they contemplate the development of strategies directed at the control of the impulsiveness in both types of violence.