Mapping Peer Violence in Children’s Homes

Abstract

This chapter describes in more detail the framework used to map and categorise young people’s and staff’s accounts of peer violence. As explained earlier, no pre-definition of violence was given, but broadly worded questions and vignettes were used to explore definitions and explanations for different forms of threat or attack. Kelly’s (1987) conceptualisation of a continuum of violence involving the abuse of power, and insights from the literature outlined in Chapter 1 were used to inform the shaping of questions and choice of incidents used in the vignettes.

No-one would ever say anything about my mum because I would get up and hit them so hard, I would flip out at of them, I wouldn’t care.

(Alex, aged 14)

I think getting, having names called to you is worse … because it hurts you more and it’s, like if you had a fight and you cut yourself, the pain goes and it heals, but having, being called whatever is always at the back of your head.

(Fiona, aged 14)