Frequency of violence perception, exposure and application at first classes of high schools in duzce province

Aim: This research aimed to determine violence perception, the frequencies of violence exposure and violence practice of high school first year students who are educated in Duzce Provincial National Education Directorate. Materials and methods: The research's type was cross-sectional. The universe of the research‟s was composed of 4055 first class high school students in the central district of Düzce. The sample size is calculated as 1238 and stratified as anatolian high school, vocational technical anatolian high school and private anatolia/basic high school. Datas were collected with questionnaire from 1226 students determined by cluster sampling method. The datas were evaluated using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 22 package program. Pearson Kikare test was used and a p value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: 59.9% (n=734) were male, 40.1% (n=492) were female; 41.9% (n=514) were in anatolian high school, 51.6% (n =633) were in vocational technical anatolian high school and 6.4% (n=79) were trained in private anatolia/basic high school of 1226 participating students. The students mostly perceived "harming animals" as violence, the frequency of violence exposure and application at least once in the last month was found as 22.9% and 16.9%. At the beginning of the students who were violence exposured and practiced of them came with their friends (17.5% and 22.3%), and most of them stated that they did not do anything (47.6%, 25.8%). In the last month, 9.9% of those who did not attend school due to violence and 6.0% of those who had brought damaging instruments. As a more effective method of protecting against violence, they have stated "to the school administration" and "to inform the family". Conclusion and Recommendations: In this study, the frequency of violence victimization and violence practicing in high schools in Duzce was found to be similar to the average of Turkey. Gender and school types are important factors in the display of violent behavior. Students should be trained to create violence awareness in schools. In order for education and training to be healthier, safe school environments must be provided to students.