Physical Marital Violence Research Articles

Perfil discriminante de sujeitos com histórico de violência conjugal: O papel dos Esquemas Iniciais Desadaptativos

O presente estudo e fundamentado na teoria de Jeffrey Young e tem como objetivo descrever um perfil discriminante dos sujeitos que apresentam histórico de violência conjugal física e dos que não apresentam. A amostra foi constituída por 341 participantes. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: Young Schema Quetionnaire,
 Revised Conflict Tactics Scale e o Family Background Questionnaire. Obteve-se uma função discriminante entre sujeitos com histórico de violência conjugal física e sujeitos sem histórico (χ2=43,098, p=0,045), agrupando significativamente as variáveis: esquema de desconfiança/abuso, esquema de defectividade/vergonha, esquema de dependência/incompetência, esquema de subjugação e esquema de isolamento social na direção dos sujeitos com histórico de violência física conjugal. Já os sujeitos sem histórico foram caraterizados por uma maior funcionalidade na família de origem, caracterizada pela ausência de abuso físico paterno, abuso sexual, abuso físico materno, negligencia física, bem como por um estilo de decisão materno adequado, aliança parental e ajustamento psicológico paterno e materno.

Influence of psychosocial risk factors on the trajectory of mental health problems from childhood to adolescence: a longitudinal study.

BackgroundLongitudinal epidemiological studies involving child/adolescent mental health problems are scarce in developing countries, particularly in regions characterized by adverse living conditions. We examined the influence of psychosocial factors on the trajectory of child/adolescent mental health problems (CAMHP) over time.MethodsA population-based sample of 6- to 13-year-olds with CAMHP was followed-up from 2002–2003 (Time 1/T1) to 2007–2008 (Time 2/T2), with 86 out of 124 eligible children/adolescents at T1 being reassessed at T2 (sample loss: 30.6%). Outcome: CAMHP at T2 according to the Child Behavior Checklist/CBCL’s total problem scale. Psychosocial factors: T1 variables (child/adolescent’s age, family socioeconomic status); trajectory of variables from T1 to T2 (child/adolescent exposure to severe physical punishment, mother exposure to severe physical marital violence, maternal anxiety/depression); and T2 variables (maternal education, child/adolescent’s social support and pro-social activities).ResultsMultivariate analysis identified two risk factors for child/adolescent MHP at T2: aggravation of child/adolescent physical punishment and aggravation of maternal anxiety/depression.ConclusionsThe current study shows the importance of considering child/adolescent physical punishment and maternal anxiety/depression in intervention models and mental health care policies.

Prevalência e procura de ajuda na violência conjugal física ao longo da vida

To estimate the lifetime prevalence of physical marital violence among women from a low-income urban community and to investigate help-seeking behavior among victims. This is the Brazilian pilot cross-sectional study for an international multicenter study conducted in 1999, and is based on a probabilistic cluster sample from the municipality of Embu, São Paulo State. We considered as eligible women aged 15 to 49 years, living with children under age 18 years, who had lived with a husband or partner in lifetime. Information was collected using standardized questionnaires (n=86), administered by trained interviewers. We investigated three types of physical violence: severe (kicking, hitting with fist, beating, and/or use/threat to use weapon), non-severe (slapping in the absence of severe violence), and any type (severe and/or non-severe and/or other physical aggressions spontaneously referred), as well as the type of help sought by the victim (from people or institutions). We calculated frequency and 95% confidence intervals for each type of violence. Subjects reported slapping (32.6%), hitting with fist (17.5%), beating (15,2%), use/threat to use weapon (13.9%), and kicking (10.6%). Prevalence of marital violence was high: 22.1% (13.3-30.9) for severe violence, 10.5% (4.0-17.0) for non-severe violence, and 33.7% (32.7-34.7) for any type of violence. Victims of severe violence were more likely to seek help from the police (36.8%) or from traditional healers (21.1%) than from health care facilities (5.3%), despite the availability of these services in the area. Physical marital violence is frequent and severe among the population studied, and help was sought preferentially from the police or traditional healers rather than from health care services.

Physical violence and other forms of marital aggression: Links with children's behavior problems.

Two studies examined whether physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression (e.g., threats, throwing objects) correlate with children's behavior problems in families marked by recent spousal violence. Study 1 included 55 families seeking marital therapy. Study 2 included 199 families at battered women's shelters. In the marital therapy sample, both physical marital violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with children's externalizing problems. In the women's shelter sample, physical violence and other forms of marital aggression correlated positively with children's externalizing and internalizing problems. After accounting for the frequency of physical marital violence, forms of marital aggression other than physical violence still related to children's externalizing problems in the marital therapy sample and to children's internalizing problems in the women's shelter sample. Physical marital violence, operationalized as physical assault on an intimate partner's body, is very prevalent among families in the United States, with up to 50% of married couples experiencing spousal violence at some point during the course of their marriages (Straus & Gelles, 1990; Straus, Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980).] Relationships between physical marital violence and children's behavior problems have been investigated with some vigor over the past decade, and empirical evidence clearly indicates that children growing up in families marked by such violence are at increased risk for clinical

Physical aggression toward boys and girls in families characterized by the battering of women.

Forty-eight families (mothers and children) participated in a study on physical aggression toward boys and girls in households characterized by the battering of women. In each family, the mother had sought shelter because of relationship violence and had a son and daughter between 4 and 14 years. Mothers completed measures of physical marital violence directed at themselves, aggression toward children, and children's externalizing behavior problems. Older children completed measures of aggression directed at themselves. Results indicated that child gender moderates the relationship between the battering of women and aggression toward children. In families characterized by «more extreme» battering, boys were more often victims of aggression than girls, boys exhibited more externalizing problems than girls, and gender differences in externalizing problems helped account for the differential aggression directed at boys and girls

Over- vs. Undercontrolled Hostility: Application of the Construct to the Classification of Maritally Violent Men

The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate the applicability of Megargee's (1967) distinction between over- and undercontrolled hostility to maritally aggressive men. Subjects were 41 men who were referred for treatment for physical marital violence. Data were derived from a written battery of self-report measures. Overcontrolled hostile men showed patterns of abuse in which violent episodes were more severe but less frequent and in which the wife was the sole target of the aggressive behavior. Undercontrolled hostile husbands were more generally aggressive and more frequently aggressive. Additionally, undercontrolled husbands were more likely than overcontrolled husbands to have witnessed violence in their families of origin and to have had rejecting mothers. Implications for the assessment and treatment of marital violence are discussed.