School Violence in Medical and Nursing Students of a Public University in Mexico

Irma Ramos Rodríguez1 , Carolina Aranda Beltrán2

(1. Department of Molecular Biology and Genomics, University Center of Health Sciences, University of Guadalajara, Mexcio;
2. Department of Public Health, University Center of Health Sciences, University of Guadalajara, Mexcio)

Abstract: A cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out in undergraduate university students of the first semester in a public university in Mexico. The objective was to determine the presence of school violence, the associated factors and the differences regarding the career (medical and nursing students). A socio-demographic data questionnaire and the school violence questionnaire of the Ombudsman (2000) were applied. In the results it was found that 44.8% of the students have experienced some type of abuse; of them the main form of violence in medical students was verbal abuse, followed by social exclusion and cyberbullying, while in the case of nursing it was social exclusion, followed by verbal abuse and cyberbullying. The students of both careers have: higher risk of being mistreated by peers of the same semester and male gender, the victims think of dropping out their studies and showing low academic performance. In conclusion, the presence of violence affects approximately half of the students through different forms of abuse, altering their health, well-being and academic performance. It is necessary to take urgent measures to help combat this problem.

Key words: abuse, violence, university students