Political violence has attracted the attention of psychological researchers in South Africa. In comparison, the more habitual forms of violence occurring in townships have been neglected. In this study the authors investigate the experiences of violence of two cohorts of township youths; one which had recently experienced the violence of ‘unrest’ and one which had not. A comparison of the two cohorts revealed some differences, which are related to ‘unrest’. There are, however, many similarities which indicate consistencies in experiences of violence regardless of ‘unrest’. It is concluded that the more habitual forms of violence deserve more research attention.
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