Title: [Co-occurrence of physical violence against partners and their children in health services]

POPLINE Document Number: 314423

Author(s):

Reichenheim ME
Dias AS
Moraes CL

Source citation:

Revista de Saude Publica / Journal of Public Health, 2006 Aug;40(4):595-603.

Abstract:

The objective was to profile the co-occurrence of physical violence against partners and their children in a population attending a health care service, according to different socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. A cross-sectional study on family violence and pre-term delivery was carried out in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2000. Households of women living with a partner and at least one child (or stepchild) aged less than 18 years were eligible to the study (n=205). Socioeconomic, demographic, and life style variables for the family couple were considered as potential predictors of violence. The outcome variable was assessed at four levels: no physical violence in the household; physical violence against partners, physical violence against at least one child or co-occurrence of both. A multinomial logit model was used for projecting the respective prevalences according to a range of selected descriptors. The risk factors associated to greater risk of the outcome were: maternalage >/=25; partner with less than eight years of schooling; presence of >/=2 children under the age of five in the household; and alcohol/illicit drug abuse by the partner. In households with all those characteristics, the joint projected prevalence of violence against partners and their children was 90.2%, and as much as 60.6% accounted for the co-occurrence of both. In the absence of those factors, estimates were significantly lower (18.9% and 0.2%, respectively). Health providers should not only anticipate a situational gradient, but also be aware there is an increasingly higher risk of violence comprising the whole family group. (author's)

Keywords:

Brazil
Research Report
Cross Sectional Analysis
Couples
Children
Domestic Violence
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
Alcohol Use and Abuse
Drug Use and Abuse
South America, Eastern
South America
Latin America
Americas
Developing Countries
Research Methodology
Family Characteristics
Family and Household
Sociocultural Factors
Youth
Age Factors
Population Characteristics
Demographic Factors
Population
Crime
Social Problems
Measurement
Biology
Economic Factors
Behavior