Definitions, prevalence and sources of violence in Germany

Thomas Jäger

Definition

As in other countries, in Germany there is no common agreement ondefining exactly what violence is. The term "violence" is often mixedwith other terms describing similar phenomena, like "bullying" or"aggression". Some studies do not define violence at all, using a broaddefinition that includes numerous subsets of violence, like physicalviolence, verbal pressure, vandalism, sexual harassment or evenstructural violence.

Schäfer and Korn (2000) point out that the definition of the term"violence" depends very much on the discipline within which studies areexecuted. In psychological studies violence is regarded as a subset ofaggression, whereas educational-scientific studies see aggression as asubset of violence (cp. Vieluf, 1993). In sociological andcriminological contexts, violence is regarded as a form of deviantbehaviour.

In everyday life "violence" is usually associated with physicalassaults or criminal acts. When asked what actions are perceived asviolence, school heads, teachers, pupils and parents all first citephysical attacks, threatening with weapons, blackmailing and vandalism.While about half of the teachers and heads regard verbal aggression asviolence, only 30% of pupils and parents do. 5

In recent years the terms "bullying" or "mobbing" have been usedmore frequently in discussions about violence in school. "Bullying"describes a phenomenon that only partly overlaps with "violence" as itfocuses mainly on group activities. Some people regard it as a subsetof violence. One popular definition of bullying is:

"A pupil is exposed to violence or is being bullied whenhe/she is repeatedly exposed to negative acts from one or several otherpupils. Negative acts can be committed verbally (making threats,mocking etc.), by physical contact (beating, pushing, etc.), or withoutany form of verbal or physical act (gestures, exclusion from a groupetc.). The term bullying is not used when two pupils who are equally asphysically or mentally strong, fight or argue with each other. It'sessential that there's always an imbalance of power."
(Hanewinkel & Knaack, 1997, S. 34).

Prevalence

As stated under "definition", one problem with German research intoviolence in schools is that violence is not defined in a consistentway. In recent years numerous studies have been conducted which arerepresentative of specific cities or regions within the country. Asthese studies have used different instruments and are based ondifferent definitions they are difficult to compare.

There are contradicting findings relating to the prevalence ofviolence in recent years. This is especially evident when comparingstudies focusing on violence in school with studies on juvenileviolence in general. With regards to violence in school, some studiesclaim that there has been a rise in low level violence (Tillmann etal.) while others don't see a significant change at all over the pastdecade (Wenzke, 1997). Looking at juvenile violence, most studiesindicate a rise during the mid 1980s or early 1990s, not only inGermany but all over Europe. Police statistics in particular indicate amassive increase, though these findings partly reflect an increasedwillingness to report violent juvenile delinquency. Statistics can alsopartly be influenced by other factors, such as changes in juristicdefinitions of violence, higher attention by the media (having aninfluence on the sensitivity of people again) or even the increasinguse of computers by police (Smith, 1999; Oswald, 1999).

Some general tendencies can be identified from several studies:

"Serious criminally relevant crimes occur very rarely and are actually not typical of violence in schools."
(Fuchs et al, 1996, p.9; cp. Schäfer, 1996)

"Juvenile violence is a male phenomenon; the predominance of young male offenders has increased markedly since the mid 1980s."
(Pfeiffer & Wetzels, 1999; p.13)

Violent behaviour in school is most common in the age group of 13-15 year old pupils, in class 8-9.
(Tillmann, 1997).

"The typical form of violence in German schools is verbal violence."
(Schäfer, 1996)

"Juvenile acts of violence recorded by the police have notbecome more brutal in recent years; in fact, the average severity ofthe offences has decreased."
(Pfeiffer & Wetzels, 1999; p.4)

In schools of a lower educational level, there is a higher rate ofjuvenile violence. Violent behaviour is more common in Special Schools(Sonderschule), Hauptschule or in the work preparation year, whereas itis significantly lower in the Gymnasiums
(Schäfer & Korn, 2001, Tillmann, 1997).

Juvenile violence is particularly attributable to offenders with alow level of education and a social situation characterised by relativepoverty, poor future prospects and poor social integration.
(Pfeiffer & Wetzels, 1999)

The level of violence practised by young immigrants is higher thanfor German pupils, particularly juveniles. This mainly reflects poorsocial integration.
(Pfeiffer & Wetzels, 1999)

"Juveniles who have been beaten or abused by their parents aschildren or in their youth are much more likely to be violent thanthose who have not been beaten."
(Pfeiffer & Wetzels, 1999, p.11)

"Membership in a social set with a propensity to act violently is afurther factor … to raise the risk of a youth being actively violent."
(Pfeiffer & Wetzels, 1999, p.17)

Sources

Numerous studies relating to Germany as well as in other countriesreveal that the development of violent behaviour does not relate to asingle source, but numerous sources that interact in a complex way. InGerman studies, the following sources of aggressive and violentbehaviour have been detected (compare Schäfer & Korn, 2001;Pfeiffer & Wetzels, 1999, Reinders, 1998, Funk, & Passenberger,1997):

Family

• parental violence
• family is severely underprivileged (parents are out of work or draw local welfare support)
• inconsistency in upbringing

School

• low educational level
• quality of the education provided and the educational environment
• negative atmosphere/environment in class or in school
• authoritarian and restrictive education styles

Personality

• high need for stimulation
• low inhibition threshold

Others

• violent peer-groups and social-pressure
• poor social integration of immigrants
• influence of media

Studies focusing on victims revealed the following sources, whichalso interact in a complex way, and which increase the probability ofgetting victimised (Lösel, Bliesener & Averbeck, 1997, Rostampour& Melzer, 1997, Tillmann, K.-J., 1997):

Family

• restrictive education 

School

• isolated and not popular in the class

Personality

• more fearful, depressive and less self-confident than other pupils
• more defensive behaviour

Others

• have less friends than other pupils

 

Literature and links

Bibliography

Funk, W. & Passenberger, J., (1997), Determinanten derGewalt an Schulen. In Holtappels, H. G. , Heitmeyer, W., Melzer W.,& Tillmann K.J., (Hrsg.). Schulische Gewaltforschung. Stand undPerspektiven (S. 243-260). Weinheim: Juventa.

Hanewinkel, R. & Knaack, R., (1997). Mobbing: Gewaltpräventionin Schulen in Schleswig-Holstein. Kronshagen: LandesinstitutSchleswig-Holstein für Praxis und Theorie in der Schule (IPTS).

Lösel, F., Bliesener, T. & Averbeck, M., (1997). Erlebens- undVerhaltensprobleme von Tätern und Opfern. In H. G. Holtappels, W.Heitmeyer, W. Melzer & K.4. Tillmann (Eds.), Forschung über Gewaltan Schulen. Erscheinungsformen und Ursachen, Konzepte und Prävention(pp. 137-153). Weinheim: Juventa.

Oswald, H., (1999). Steigt die Gewalt unter Jugendlichen? In:Schäfer, M. / Frey, D. (Hrsg.) Aggression und Gewalt unter Kindern undJugendlichen. Hogrefe).
Download: mobbingzirkel.emp.paed.uni-muenchen.de/secure/ressourcen/data/oswald1.pdf

Pfeiffer, C. & Wetzels, P., (1999), The structure anddevelopment of juvenile violence in Germany. KriminologischesForschungsinstitut Niedersachsen, Forschungsberichte Nr.76.
Download: www.kfn.de/fb76.pdf

Reinders, (1998), Violence in schools. National activities, programmes and policies - Germany.
Download: europa.eu.int/comm/education/violence/docs/de-en.pdf

Rostampour, P. & Melzer, W., (1997). Täter-Opfer-Typologien imschulischen Gewaltkontext. Forschungsergebnisse unter Verwendung vonCluster-Analyse und multinominaler logistischer Regression. In: H.G.Holtappels, W. Heitmeyer, W. Melzer & K.J. Tillmann (Hrsg.)Forschung über Gewalt an Schulen. Erscheinungsformen, Ursachen undPrävention (169-190). München: Juventa.

Schäfer, M., (1996). Aggression unter Schülern. Report Psychologie 21, (9/96), 700-710.
Download: mobbingzirkel.emp.paed.uni-muenchen.de/secure/ressourcen/data/aggres1.pdf

Schäfer, M. & Korn, S., (2001), Tackling violence in schools: Areport from Germany.http://www.goldsmiths.ac.ac.uk/connect/reportgermany.html

Schwind, H.D., Citlak, S., Gielen, B., Gretenkordt, M., Raum, U.& Roitsch, K., (1995), Gewalt in der Schule - am Beispiel vonBochum. Mainz: Weißer Ring.

Smith, P.K., (1999). Aggression und Bullying in Schulen. In:Schäfer, M. / Frey, D. (Hrsg.) Aggression und Gewalt unter Kindern undJugendlichen. Hogrefe.
Download: mobbingzirkel.emp.paed.uni-muenchen.de/secure/ressourcen/data/Smith1.pdf

Tillmann, K.-J. (1997). Gewalt an Schulen: öffentliche Diskussionund erziehungswissenschaftliche Forschung. In H.G. Holtappels, W.Heitmeyer, W. Melzer & K.J. Tillmann (Hrsg.) Forschung über Gewaltan Schulen. Erscheinungsformen, Ursachen und Prävention (11-27).München: Juventa. (11-27)

Other basic texts

Stein, R., Gewaltprävention in der Grundschule. www.isl.uni-wuppertal.de/gsnew/stein.html

Jugend und Gewalt, (1994), Erscheinungsformen und Ursachen Berichtder Bayrischen Staatsregierung. Ausführliche Ausführungen zu Ausmaß,Erscheinungsformen und Ursachen von Gewalt. www.stmukwk.bayern.de/jugend/bericht/teil1/index.html

Wehr, H., (1996), Gewalt-Prävention in der Schule.Vortragsmanuskript und Schilf-Material. www.ph-heidelberg.de/org/phb/gewpraev.htm