Violence perpetration among Norwegian adolescents – a study of risk and protective factors

PhD-project
Funding: Ministry of Justice and Public Security
Project period: 2017-2020
ResearcherLars Roar Frøyland
Supervisors: Tilmann Von Soest (Institute of Psychology, University of Oslo), Svein Mossige (NOVA/ Institute of Psychology, University of Oslo)

Lars Roar Frøyland
Lars Roar Frøyland

Late adolescence and early adulthood is the period in life when people are most likely both to be victims and perpetrators of violence. Research has shown that exposure to violence in adolescence can have negative impact on later life events, eg mental health problems, involvement in crime and deviance, and difficulties related to school and work adjustment. Less is known about implications of violence perpetration in adolescence for future life expectancies. Earlier studies have also provided important knowledge about different protective and risk factors for adolescent violence perpetration. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding changes in violence perpetration over time, and especially studies which can investigate concurrent changes in the prevalence of violence and relevant risk and protective factors for violent behavior.

By using two population-based surveys of Norwegian adolescents (UngVold 2007/2015) and linked registry data I will conduct a study of young perpetrators of violence. A key objective of the project will be to investigate potential risk and protective factors that may help understanding variation in violence levels over time. I will also examine how violence perpetration in adolescence may have implications for future social marginalization, both with regards to later crime and to social marginalization in education and employment.

The results will be published in scientific articles and as a doctoral dissertation.

Publications

Frøyland, Lars Roar; von Soest, Tilmann (2017). Trends in the Perpetration of Physical Aggression among Norwegian Adolescents 2007-2015. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. doi: 10.1007/s10964-017-0793-2

Contact
For more information, contact Lars Roar Frøyland (lars.r.froyland@oslomet.no).