14 DAY TRIAL // 23 percent of young people get into fights when they go out at night in Spain, according to a new research carried out by the European Institute of Studies on Prevention.
Amador Calafat, lead author of the study and a researcher at the European Institute of Studies on Prevention (IREFREA), told SINC that “reports about young people being attacked or injured in fights when they go out at night are becoming increasingly common.”
The study aimed to better understand the phenomenon of violence among young Spanish people, under 25 years of age, especially during night time.
So the researchers selected a sample of 440 young adults from the Balearic Islands, Galicia and Valencia who go out at night and consume alcohol or other substances, on a regular basis.
The conclusions were a bit worrisome: 5.2% of young people carry weapons when they go out at night, 11.6% of them have been attacked or threatened, and 23% have got into a fight at some point.
Calafat, which is at the forefront of studies into problems of childhood and adolescence and drug abuse, explains that “having been threatened or hurt with a weapon was associated with having frequent arguments related to the use of alcohol and drugs.”
He added that “in order to prevent night-time violence, alcohol consumption among young people should be controlled by offering water and soft drinks at affordable prices, steering away from 'happy hour'-type alcohol offers, and strictly ensuring that alcohol is not sold to underage drinkers.”
The authors specify that adolescence itself is a risk factor, by making young people more vulnerable to this type of violent behavior.
In Spain, there are some prevention measures that are applied at night, like not allowing crowds to form, using soft music when bars and clubs close and bright lights when it is time to leave.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the Journal Psicothema.