Ranney says, "Where male and female victims of community violence differed in this chart review was in the circumstances of their injury. Our study shows that adolescent females are more likely than males to be injured by a relative or intimate partner, and equally likely to be injured by friends or strangers. "
She adds, "Although only adolescent females reported suffering an injury at the hands of an intimate partner, overall, more adolescent females were injured by a non-partner than by a partner. And they were more likely to be injured by blunt force than by a penetrating weapon such as a knife. To our knowledge, these distinctions have not been previously reported in the literature. These findings have important implications for preventing violent injury among young women; although dating violence is an important cause of injury, so are fights with friends. "
The researchers also had a second goal for the study: to examine the completeness of the documentation within the charts and the accuracy of the coding for those injuries. Their review found, in agreement with previous literature, that relying on hospital-provided data on the deliberateness for adolescent females' injuries may result in erroneous conclusions. The chart review found that large numbers of injuries were miscoded, and, more importantly, crucial demographic and injury-related information was missing from many charts.
Ranney says, "These inaccuracies suggest that alternative modes of intentional injury surveillance for adolescents should be created. The large amount of missing information, especially in terms of race/ethnicity, is particularly concerning and deserves further study. "
Of note, however, Ranney adds, "Interestingly, females' circumstances of injury, particularly the perpetrator of their injuries, were consistently better documented than males'. Nonetheless, our findings on missing information suggest that emergency physicians should be better educated as to the value of assessing the circumstances in which youth are injured, and, by extension, the importance of charting the youths' responses. "
The researchers conclude that while most existing violence prevention programs focus on either female victims of intimate partner violence or on violence among males, this review suggests that adolescent female non-partner violence deserves further attention. Ranney notes, "Violent injuries caused by friends and strangers account for greater numbers of emergency department visits for young women than intimate partner or dating violence. In addition, because female adolescents seem to be injured under different circumstances than males, the injury prevention methods that work to prevent male youth violence many not work for females, and further research into those risk factors is needed. "
Megan Ranney, M.D., M.P.H., an emergency medicine physician at Rhode Island Hospital, discusses her research on community violence and the differences between adolescent boys and girls.
(Photo Credit: Rhode Island Hospital)
Megan Ranney, M.D., M.P.H., an emergency medicine physician with Rhode Island Hospital, examines community violence and the differences between adolescent boys and girls in this new study.
(Photo Credit: University Emergency Medicine Foundation)
Source: Lifespan