A NEW ROLE FOR THE PEDIATRICIAN - PREVENT ION OF SOCIAL VIOLENCE

Social violence is a kind of violence which Is applied by one individu al to another. It is a stake in the field of public health because of an increasing number of children with such behaviors. In addition to e nvironmental factors, the occurrence of abnormal social behavior befor e 9 years of age seems to precede social violence for the subsequent 2 0 yeats of life. One must therefore identify an inadequate attitude to wards the parents and/or the teachers or a poor child's self-esteem an d self-respect. These phenomena are based on parental authority on the ethical development of the child, on his verbalization capacity, oil his socialization and his affective development. It is therefore impor tant to stimulate ethical capacities and feelings ill the child not on ly to provide autonomy but also to allow reflexive distinction of lang uage, behavior and judgment, which enable him to understand consider a nd respect other individuals. (C) 1998 Elsevier, Paris.