Child Victim Surveys chart violent experiences of children in Finland. These experiences have been surveyed since 1988. The surveys extensively study the experiences of sixth and ninth graders (people aged 12 and 15) both as victims and witnesses of violence. FSD collections cover data for 1988, 2008, 2013, and 2022.
The survey focused on violence against children and adolescents in Finland, surveying different forms and manifestations of violence. The respondents were sixth grade (12-13 year olds) and ninth grade (15-16 year olds) pupils in schools. The main themes in the survey were experiences of crime (such as robberies, thefts, threats, assaults and domestic violence), sibling and peer victimisation, sexual violence, harassment and threats via the internet and cyber-bullying. Data collection was carried out during a class. Compared to the previous data collection in 2013, the section measuring violence in digital environments in particular was revised.
First, the respondents were asked about their home, family structure, relationships with family and friends, health, any experience of substance abuse, leisure activities and hobbies. They were also asked about any inappropriate behaviour, such as hitting, intimidating, encouraging sexual activity or offering intoxicants, which may have been initiated by the instructor or coach of the recreational activity.
So-called conventional crime was charted by asking whether the respondents had been subjected to robbery, theft, vandalism, assault or attempted assault, threats, how often, whether they had told anyone, and whether they had suffered any injuries. Further questions dealt with the scene of the crime and the perpetrator's identity, including his/her sex, age, and ethnicity. Sibling and peer violence was studied with questions about assault, and physical and emotional bullying.
Regarding witnessing violence against family members, the respondents were asked whether they had seen or heard their mother, father or sibling being verbally or physically abused (e.g. hit with a fist or an item, attacked with a knife) or threatened with violence at home, and who the perpetrator had been, how old the respondent had been when the (first) incident had occurred, and whether the victim had sustained visible injuries or injuries that required professional treatment. Another question investigated whether a family member had been verbally or physically abused, threatened with violence etc. in public. Parents' means of approaching a conflict situation with the respondent were charted (e.g. sulking, insulting, threatening with violence, spanking on the bottom, kicking).
Relating to sexual activity with adults (or people at least five years older), the respondents were asked, among other things, whether they had experienced sexual advances from or been in sexual contact with adults, what had happened (e.g. sexual propositions, fondling, exposure of genitals), how old they had been, whether the respondent had known the adult, which of them had initiated the activity, whether coercion, violence, gifts or alcohol were involved, whether the respondent viewed the situation as sexual abuse, and whether the respondent had told anyone about the incident and if not, why. In addition, ninth-grade respondents were asked about sexual experiences, such as first kisses, dating and sex, with peers.
Background variables included, among others, the respondent's class grade, gender, age, household composition, and country of birth (categorised) as well as parents' ages, occupations, employment statuses, countries of birth (categorised), and educations. Language spoken at home and financial situation of the family were also inquired about.
Stratified cluster sampling. The sample unit was school class. In the first stage of sampling, Statistics Finland drew up samples of sixth grade and ninth grade classes of both Swedish- and Finnish-speaking schools separately. The samples were based on the information of sixth and ninth grade classes of the year before (2021). Schools with fewer than 6 sixth-graders and/or fewer than 10 ninth-graders were excluded from the sample. The four samples drawn were stratified by Regional State Administrative Agencies (AVI) and statistical grouping of municipalities. The number of schools to be sampled was determined by the relative proportion of sixth- or ninth-graders in the population in the stratum in question.
In the second stage of sampling, classes were randomly selected from these schools. For sixth-graders, one class was selected if the school had fewer than 50 pupils, two if the school had between 50 and 120 pupils, and three if the school had more than 120 pupils. For ninth-graders, one class was selected if there were fewer than 50 students, two if there were between 50 and 100 students, and three if there were more than 100 students. The final sample size was 700 schools and 23,049 pupils.
In Åland, schools were selected by stratified sampling according to the statistical grouping of municipalities. The stratified sample consisted of three schools for sixth-graders and two schools for ninth-graders, giving a sample of five schools for Åland. The sample was drawn by Statistics Finland. The final sample represents Finnish and Swedish-speaking sixth and ninth graders in Finland (Mainland Finland and Åland).