Young adults’ perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence

Abstract

South Africa is a developing country, characterised by various forms of political struggles and different forms of violence. As a result, the journey from adolescence to adulthood is plagued with community violence. High rates of exposure to community violence result in short-term and long-term physical and psychological harm to the adolescents who later become the adults in their communities. In addition to the various adverse effects caused by exposure to community violence, adolescents also find it more challenging to decide whether violence is acceptable or not, as society views violence as a way of speaking up and solving problems. The rationale for this study was that there is limited research providing insight into how adolescents think and feel about community violence in South Africa. The goal of the research was to explore and describe young adults’ perceptions of community violence experienced in a South African context during adolescence. Community violence refers to violent acts of a physical nature witnessed or imposed on someone within his/her community or geographical area (Visser, Coetzee & Claassen, 2016:4). This study focused on community violence observed and experienced in the community, or observed in images on social media and television but excluded violence in the home and bullying in schools. The study was qualitative in nature and formed part of a group research project. The type of research conducted was applied, as it attempted to generate knowledge to be applied in practice in the form of recommendations to assist social workers working with adolescents and families exposed to community violence. The researcher addressed the following research question: What are young adults’ perceptions of community violence experienced during their adolescent years? To answer this question, the researcher made use of a case study design, specifically an instrumental case study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by means of an interview schedule. A non-probability sampling approach was implemented, specifically a combination of purposive and snowball sampling, to select ten young adults who had been exposed to community violence during their adolescent years. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data obtained. Research findings were interpreted from the theoretical underpinning of Gestalt theory. The empirical findings confirmed that the participants were exposed to high rates of community violence during their adolescent years. The study findings suggest that community violence is embedded within adolescents’ family environment, school environment, community settings, and societal values. Although the participants disclosed feeling unsafe in their community, they also described a general culture of ‘not getting involved’ when witnessing community violence. The findings highlighted that community-level issues play a significant role in protecting adolescents. The participants indicated several factors that influenced the high rates of exposure to community violence among youth, of which status frustration among male adolescents and conflict situations fuelled by impulsive behaviour and miscommunication were most prominent. Recommendations were made based on participants’ experiences and perceptions of community violence. The importance of access to a strong support system was highlighted in this study. Therefore, recommendations focused on providing more support to adolescents and enhancing social cohesion. This could encourage youth to insist on change and motivate them to play a positive role in their communities. At the same time, primary prevention, aiming at building the inner strength of at-risk adolescents, is needed to assist them to cope with their exposure to community violence. The researcher believes that an adolescent with a stronger sense of self could be able to challenge his/her own perceptions of community violence and subsequently decide to invest in a culture of non-violence. Therefore, practitioners should always view adolescents as growth-oriented, self-regulating and aim to understand their behaviours and perceptions in the context of their environment. Key concepts Community violence Adolescents Young adults Perceptions Gestalt theory Holism