Physical aggression and social class

Objective Considering the increase of violence and the scarcity of informations about the relation between social class and victimization by physical aggression, a study was conducted to investigate this association. Methods A hospital-based case-control study. Cases and controls were recruited at a hospital, first-acid clinic, from 1/10/93 to 19/1/95. The study included 191 cases and 222 controls selected from among patients with non-violent clinical-surgical complaints, frequency-matched to cases by sex and age. Using a standardized questionnaire applied by trained interviewers, information obtained included social class, skin color marital status, smoking habits, alcohol consumption and illicit drug use. Results Adjusting for sex and age the risk of victimization by physical aggression was significantly higher for the subproletariat, Odds Ratio (OR) 4.20, 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) 1.99-8.84; single (OR=2.10) or informal union (OR=2.62) as marital status (reference group = married); smokers of more than 10 cigarettes/day (OR=2.75); alcohol consumption (OR=2.08 for less than or equal to 240 grams/week and OR=24.05 for >240 grams/week); and illicit drug users (OR=3.07). After adjusting for all factors studied a significant risk remained for the subproletariat (OR=3.28, 95% CI 1.42-7.59); single as marital status (OR=2.05, 95% CI 1.09-3.88); and alcohol consumption (OR=2.01, 95% IC 1.07-3.77 for less than or equal to 240 and OR=15.93, 95% CI 5.09-49.8 for >240 grams/week). Conclusion Social class is an important factor in the phenomenon of victimization by physical aggression, with the subproletariat deserving special attention in the strategies of intervention regarding this problem.