Child and Partner Abuse: Self-Reported Prevalence and Attitudes in the North of Portugal

Autor/inn/en	Machado, Carla; Goncalves, Miguel; Matos, Marlene; Dias, Ana Rita
Titel	Child and Partner Abuse: Self-Reported Prevalence and Attitudes in the North of Portugal
Quelle	In: Child Abuse & Neglect: The International Journal, 31 (2007) 6, S.657-670 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0145-2134
DOI	10.1016/j.chiabu.2006.11.002
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Family Violence; Child Abuse; Incidence; Measurement Techniques; Antisocial Behavior; Parent Attitudes; Gender Differences; Questionnaires; Socioeconomic Status; Educational Attainment; Portugal + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Abuse of children; Abuse; Child; Children; Kindesmissbrauch; Missbrauch; Kind; Kinder; Vorkommen; Messtechnik; Elternverhalten; Geschlechterkonflikt; Fragebogen; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Bildungsabschluss; Bildungsgut
Abstract	Objectives: To determine the self-reported prevalence of child and partner physical and emotional abuse in the north of Portugal and to investigate attitudes about these forms of family violence. Methods: Data were collected by questionnaire from a representative sample of parents in two-parent families with children under the age of 18 years. A total of 2,391 parents participated (1,057 males), aged 20-67 years. Four questionnaires were used, one behavioral and one attitudinal, for each of the forms of abuse: child and partner. Results: At least one act of emotional or physical abuse towards a child during the previous year was reported by 25.9% of participants (12.3% reported physically abusive and 22.4% emotionally abusive acts). Abuse of a partner was reported by 26.2% of participants; at least one act of physical abuse during the previous year was reported by 12% and of emotional abuse by 23.7%. The attitudinal data, however, showed general disapproval of the use of violence, both for disciplining children and within marital relationships. The degree of self-reported support for physical punishment was higher in participants who reported using abusive behavior. Females more commonly reported acts of child abuse, and males reported acts of partner abuse. Both forms of self-reported abuse showed an association with low educational and socio-economic status. Conclusions: This is the first study in Portugal to analyze family violence through self-report using a representative sample. The findings indicate that child and partner abuse constitute a significant problem in the region of northern Portugal. The discrepancy between the self-reported behavioral and attitudinal data may reflect conflicts in Portuguese society, which is undergoing substantial cultural changes. (Author).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10