VRŠNJAČKO NASILJE KOD ADOLESCENATA U HRVATSKOJ

The aim of the paper is to research the frequency of experiencing, committing and witnessing individual forms of peer violence, as well as certain consequences of peer violence to secondary school students in Croatia. Gender differences with regard to the aforementioned experiences were researched, as well as the differences regarding the locality, grade (age) and the type of school. The research participants were 10,138 students of all grades from various secondary school programs from five Croatian towns: Zagreb, Pula, Split, Osijek and Varaždin. Quota sampling was used with the sample of young men of 47.4% (n = 4595), while 4.5% of participants did not report their gender. The average age of participants is M = 16.2 (SD = 1.16). Regarding the established aims of the paper, the Survey on socio-demographic data and a scale related to peer abuse and violence CTC (Communities That Care) – Questionnaire for children and young people (Mihić, Novak & Bašić, 2010.). The results show that 38.9% of students witnessed peer abuse at least once in the last month, while 18.2% were exposed to it at least once. Additionally, 11.8% of secondary school students had at least one experience of cyberbullying in the last month. The research also determined certain differences in the frequency of experiencing, committing and witnessing certain forms of peer abuse, as well as the consequences of peer violence with regard to gender, locality, age (grade) and type of school program. The obtained results indicate the need for timely, comprehensive and continuous investments in evidence-based preventive strategies and programs, as well as psycho-social support approaches aimed at children and young people. Key words: peer violence, peer abuse, secondary schools students, adolescents.