Risk of Aggression and Criminal Tendencies among Adolescents Living in Alexandria Governorate, Egypt

INTRODUCTION: Adolescence has been regarded as a time in which risk taking behaviors are common. Adolescent aggression and violent behaviors are among the most visible forms of violence in society, often emanating from multiple risk factors. The current study was carried out to identify risk factors responsible for aggression, violence and criminal tendency and assess the magnitude of these risks among adolescents in Alexandria, Egypt. METHODS: Using a multistage cluster sampling technique, a representative sample of families from all health districts in Alexandria was selected and all adolescents (11-19 years) living within these families were included. A predesigned interview questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data and an Arabic translation of the screening questionnaire developed by the Mentor Research Institute was used to assess various behaviors of the adolescents and determine the level of risk for aggression and criminal tendency. RESULTS: As much as 26.9% of adolescents in this study were assessed to be at high risk and another 20.2% were at extremely high risk of aggression and of criminal tendency. Logistic regression analysis showed that the adolescent’s sex, the presence of behavioral changes in the family, violence against brothers and sisters of the adolescent and drug addiction among any member in the family were the risk factors significantly associated with the risk of aggression and violence among adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that the risk of aggression and criminal tendencies among adolescents in Alexandria is significant. There is also an increasing pattern of exposure to violence. It is hoped that the responsible authorities would begin to give special attention to reduce the impacts of these exposures on the prevalence of aggression and criminal tendency in Egypt.