Violence exposure is a serious public health concern for adolescents in schools today. Violence exposure can be quite severe and frequent with multiple acts of indirect and direct victimization having lasting effects on the physical, emotional, and intellectual well-being of adolescents. The purpose of the present study is to examine the rates of violence exposure and the relative risk for multiple exposures among adolescent youth living in rural communities. Results confirm that adolescents who live in rural areas were frequent victims of violence exposure and that males were more likely to be the victims than females. Moreover, the relative risk for multiple exposures either indirectly, directly, or in combination reveal that in all instances amplification of risk occurs. The study is an important first step in understanding the rates of violence exposure and victimization experienced by adolescent youth in rural Canada with implications for school-based programming presented.
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