The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review and analysis of school violence in Serbia, as well as to suggest programs and measures that would prevent it from happening. Violent behavior in school-age children is a widespread phenomenon and issue, present not only in our country, but also in other countries and cultures; it is on the rise in both developed and underdeveloped countries, in both urban and rural areas. Age groups most prone to violent behavior are children and young people in the process of maturation, since they do not yet have developed defense mechanisms. Given the fact that there are increased levels of peer violence in modern society, it is important to emphasize its serious, far-reaching and long-lasting both physical and mental health consequences, mostly in primary school children. School violence has also become a public health issue being addressed by the World Health Organization, as it causes chronic fear in students and is responsible for numerous psychosomatic disorders. Social context of violence is also incited by media, especially the Internet, television and video games which encourage and spread certain forms of violence among students. There are different forms and levels of intensity of school violence, but violence is usually acknowledged by the society only when certain incidents get the attention in media. However, in order to put a stop to the increased tendencies of peer violence in school-age children, it is necessary to engage students, teachers, parents, media and the entire society. Due to the complexity and sensitivity of this issue, the studies carried out in Serbia are of great importance, not only to understand this issue, but also to develop prevention programs and measures that would reduce and prevent school violence. There are three categories of prevention used in our country to prevent school violence: primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary prevention is targeted at the entire population, not only certain groups which are considered to be prone to it. Its advantage lies in the fact that it motivates the children who are not prone to violence to help reduce violence occurrences. Secondary prevention involves working with children who are prone to school violence, or with those children involved in mild forms of problem behavior. Tertiary prevention involves working with students who had already exhibited some form of school violence. Serbia has many school violence prevention programs, such as: School without violence: towards a safe and enabling environment for children; Children and Police; Firefighter in School, School Officer, and many other activities which aim to protect children from violence in schools.
Risk factors for Toxocara spp. seroprevalence and its association with atopy and asthma phenotypes in school-age children in a small town and semi-rural areas of Northeast Brazil
