The study focuses on the range of acts and events included in essays entitled 'Violence', as part of an attempt to measure social awareness of potentially distressing topics. A specific examination is made of the effects of religious denomination and relative exposure to conflict on the frequency of citations of acts of violence and violent crime. Evidence is brought forward to show that conceptions of violence in Northern Ireland children embrace more than just the violence in Northern Ireland, and include misdemeanours, destruction, and crime generally. The actual levels and types of violence which vary by geographical area is reflected in the writings of different religious groups in these areas. The majority of children explicitly or implicitly condemn violence. (Author abstract)