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National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center

A Federal resource for professionals, parents and youth working to prevent violence committed by and against young people.

Physical Fighting Facts and Statistics
(Printable Version)

Physical fighting among adolescents is of public health concern both because of the potential for fight-related injuries and its association with participation in many other health risk behaviors. Fights that involve weapons are a major cause of serious injuries and deaths among youth.[1]

Prevalence
A 2001 national survey of high school students found that in the past year:

Significant gender differences were found: 43% of male students reported fighting in the past year, while only 24% of female students reported involvement in a physical fight.

The percentage of students who reported being involved in fights decreased with age from 39.5 percent among ninth grade students down to 26.5 percent among twelfth grade students.[2]  It is unclear, however, whether this reduction reflects the effects of increasing maturity, a change in the propensity to report having been in a fight, or a tendency for violence-prone youth to drop out of school, leaving a less violent pool of students in the higher grades.

There has actually been a significant decline in physical fighting in the last decade. Between 1991 and 2001, physical fighting among high school students decreased by almost 22%. In 1991, 42.5% of students reported involvement in a fight in the past 12 months, while in 2001, 33.2% of students reported fighting.

An Indicator of High-Risk Behavior
Fighting can also be an important warning sign, because youth that are involved in physical fights often engage in other high-risk behaviors. Such behaviors include using illegal drugs, binge drinking, and having unsafe sex.[3], [4],[5]

One national survey found that of the youth who reported fighting in the past month:

Substance Abuse and Fighting
Adolescents who use alcohol and illicit drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and anabolic steroids are much more likely to be involved in physical fights.[7] In addition, fight participants who are intoxicated are much more likely to use weapons and cause serious injuries. One study found that when the participants were intoxicated, 61% sustained serious injuries and 51% used weapons. In contrast, when alcohol and drugs were not involved, only 18% of the fights involved serious injuries or weapon use.[8]

Fighting and Weapon Carrying
Youth who carry weapons are more likely to be involved in physical fights. One study found that students who had carried weapons were more than twice as likely to get in fights.[9], [10]

Impact of Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation Programs
At this time, the effectiveness of most conflict resolution programs in reducing physical violence has not been adequately assessed. When studies have been conducted, some programs have shown no impact on aggressive behavior, while a few have been shown to reduce aggressiveness, violence, dropout rates, and student suspensions. A number of programs have been shown to be effective in improving academic performance and increasing cooperation, communication skills, assertiveness, self-esteem, and self-control.[16], [17]

  1. University of California at Los Angeles, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1985). The Epidemiology of Homicide in the City of Los Angeles, 1970-79. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2002). Youth risk behavior surveillance - United States, 2001. In: CDC Surveillance Summaries, June 28, 2002. MMWR, 51(SS-4), pp. 5-6.
  3. Sosin, D.M. (1995). Fighting as a marker for multiple problem behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 16, 209-215.
  4. Lindberg, D.L., Boggess, S., Williams, S. (2000). Multiple Threats: The Co-Occurrence of Teen Health Risk Behaviors. The Urban Institute.
  5. Sosin, D.M., Koepsell, T.D., Rivara, F.P., Mercy, J.A. (1995). Fighting as a marker for multiple problem behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 16(3), 209-15
  6. Sosin, D.M., Koepsell, T.D., Rivara, F.P., Mercy, J.A. (1995). Fighting as a marker for multiple problem behaviors in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 16(3), 209-15
  7. Dukarm, C.P., Byrd, R.S., Auinger, P., & Weitzman, M. (1996). Illicit substance use, gender, and the risk of violent behavior among adolescents. Archives of Pediatrics and adolescent medicine, 150(8), 797-801.
  8. Malek, M.K., Chang, B., & Davis, T.C. (1998). Self-reported characterization of seventh-grade students' fights. Journal of Adolescent Health, 23(2), 103-109
  9. DuRant, R.H. Kahn, J., Beckford, P.H., & Woods, E.R. (1997). The association of weapon carrying and fighting on school property and other health risk and problem behaviors among high school students. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 151(4),360-366.
  10. Lowry, R., Powell, K.E., Kann, L., Collins, J.L., Kolbe, L.J. (1998). Weapon-carrying, physical fighting, and fight-related injury among U.S. adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14, 122-129.
  11. Lowry, R., Powell, K.E., Kann, L., Collins, J.L., Kolbe, L.J. (1998). Weapon-carrying, physical fighting, and fight-related injury among U.S. adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14, 122-129.
  12. Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Violence (2001). Recognizing and Preventing Youth Violence: A Guide for Physicians and Other Health Care Professionals. Massachusetts Medical Society.
  13. Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Violence (2001). Recognizing and Preventing Youth Violence: A Guide for Physicians and Other Health Care Professionals. Massachusetts Medical Society.
  14. Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Violence (2001). Recognizing and Preventing Youth Violence: A Guide for Physicians and Other Health Care Professionals. Massachusetts Medical Society.
  15. Massachusetts Medical Society Committee on Violence (2001). Recognizing and Preventing Youth Violence: A Guide for Physicians and Other Health Care Professionals. Massachusetts Medical Society.
  16. Sandy, S. V., Bailey, S., & Sloane-Akwara, V. (2000). Impact on students: Conflict resolution education's proven benefits for students. In Jones, T.S. & Kmitta, D. (Eds.), Does It Work? The Case For Conflict Resolution Education In Our Nation's Schools, Conflict Resolution Education Network, pp. 17-18.
  17. Thornton, T.N., Craft, C.A., Dahlberg, L.L. Lynch, B.S., Baer, K. (2000). Best Practices of Youth Violence Prevention: A Sourcebook for Community Action. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, pp. 123-134.