Teen Violence Can Be Contagious, Study Contends

TUESDAY, Dec. 20, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Violence could be contagious among teens, according to Ohio State University researchers.

The researchers studied data collected in the mid-1990s from more than 5,900 seventh- through 12th-graders at 142 U.S. schools. Their key finding: Students were far more likely to engage in a violent act if a friend had also done so.

The youths were 48 percent more likely to be in a serious fight and 140 percent more likely to pull a weapon on someone if a friend had done the same. They also were up to 183 percent more likely to injure someone badly, the researchers said.

https://consumer.healthday.com/public-health-information-30/violence-health-news-787/teen-violence-can-be-contagious-study-contends-717849.html