Abstract
This study surveyed the oral health conditions of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years and their association with exposure to domestic violence. The study sample consisted of 333 adolescents enrolled in the State School System in the city of Olinda, PE, Brazil. Sociodemographic data, information on the participant’s oral health conditions, and their history of domestic physical violence were collected. The health-related variables analyzed included self-perceived oral health, history of toothache, and the frequency of toothbrushing and visits to the dentist. The data were entered into the Epi data 3.1 and analyzed in the SPSS program 23.0 by Pearson's Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests. There was a significant association of history of toothache and domestic violence with physical aggression from the mother (P = 0.001; OR = 2.39), a relative (P = 0.001; OR = 2.41) and any family member and/or with witnessing violent acts between the parents (P = 0.011; OR = 1.88). However, no association between physical violence and self-perceived oral health or the frequency of visits to the dentist was observed. To conclude, our findings indicate that the oral health conditions of adolescents may be directly associated with domestic violence.
Highlights
Domestic violence is considered a serious public health issue, with high incidence rates in Brazilian cities (Souza et al, 2017)
The home may often not be the safest place for those who have already experienced this type of aggression (Trajano et al 2021), as without the social support network it is easier to keep the secret of violence at home (Fundo das Nações Unidas para a Infância [UNICEF], 2020)
2.3 Sample Size The sample size of this exploratory study corresponded to approximately 20% of the number of adolescents who participated in the clinical examination (n = 1,742) in the main project, totaling 333 students
Summary
Domestic violence is considered a serious public health issue, with high incidence rates in Brazilian cities (Souza et al, 2017). It is considered a multi-causal phenomenon, and may be related to family breakdown, lack of assistance to education, health and social interaction (Costa et al, 2020). Children and adolescents have less autonomy and are directly dependent on their guardian(s), which renders them more susceptible to suffer from this type of violence (Serafim et al, 2016). After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the compulsory social distancing and the consequent suspension of face-to-face classes, young people were further exposed to domestic violence with direct effects on their physical health (Cluver et al, 2020). The home may often not be the safest place for those who have already experienced this type of aggression (Trajano et al 2021), as without the social support network it is easier to keep the secret of violence at home (Fundo das Nações Unidas para a Infância [UNICEF], 2020)
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