M.A. / Violence exacts an enormous social cost which is concerned with the loss of self-respect in both the perpetrators, the victims as well as the family and the broader social community. The purpose of this study was to describe the link between environmental violence and family well-being so as to develop effective intervention strategies for social work practice and community development. This study was conducted within Zola Primary Health Care Clinic in Soweto. A questionnaire was used as a method of gathering data that was required. The researcher used an exploratory descriptive design. It was found in this study that environmental violence has an impact on family well-being. The results of the study indicated that there is a significant difference between the type of environmental violence that was experienced by the victim e.g. rape/sexual abuse especially whereby the perpetrator is a family member or relative. The results showed that family well-being was affected in a way that victims felt less power, less goal-inclined, less safe within their own families as well as within their own communities. The family well-being is also affected by several factors such as housing, marital status, age, education. For an example the results showed that victims of violence with a higher level of education felt more power, more goal-inclined and safer within their families and within their own communities. Recommendations for social work practice and community development were drawn whereby the importance of knowing and understanding the needs of the victims were highlighted – before effective intervention can take place. / Dr. E. Oliphant

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the College Student Attitude Toward Female Victims of Domestic Violence Scale. Procedures used were a 12-day test-retest for reliability, experts assessment for face validity, and a principal component factor analysis for construct validity. Cronbach's alpha for test-retest reliability was .86.

The purpose of this study is to examine domestic violence as it occurs in same-sex male relationships. Data were collected by in-depth interviews with twenty-five gay males, who were between the ages of 23 and 43, and who had previous experience being in a homosexual relationship where domestic violence was present. The major findings of this study include the respondents': 1) definitions of domestic violence and abuse; 2) the type of domestic violence or abuse personally experienced; and 3) reasons they believe domestic violence or abuse occurs in these types of relationships. This study illustrates the need for further research in this area of domestic violence and for programs or services targeted for this specific population.

Battered women's perceptions of gender roles within the family were studied. Twenty white, working-class women who were victims of domestic violence were interviewed. It was determined that battered women have very traditional views of gender roles in the family and these views affected the choices that they made within their relationships and their ability to escape these abusive relationships.

Little research has addressed the degree to which domestic violence is mutual and whether patterns are stable across women's relationships. Studies that exist have conflicting results. This study addressed these issues and the effects of sustaining past violence on women's expressions of violence in their current relationship. Archival data from a sample of severely psychologically abused community women (N = 92) and a sample of low-income community women (N = 836) were analyzed. Results showed the presence of mutual violence in women's current relationships which was not related to past partners' violence. Results regarding the stability of violence are weak, but indicate that the frequency and severity of violence across relationships sustained by women does not decrease across relationships. Overall, results supported the hypothesis that violence is mutual in the relationships of community women, although specific patterns may differ by ethnicity.

The rationale for this study was based on the application of the cycle of domestic violence theory to elder abuse. It examined the effect of history of experienced childhood violence on tolerance, behavioral intentions, and past behaviors of elder abuse toward general and specific elderly targets. The effectiveness of educational interventions for altering tolerance and behavioral intentions of elder abuse was examined. Two hundred and twenty-five undergraduates were assessed for aging knowledge, general aging attitudes, aging anxiety, elder abuse attitudes, and elder abuse intentions and past behaviors. Participants were assigned to a High or Low Experienced Violence group and participated in an educational group or control group. Posttest and one-month followup measures were obtained. No differences were found at pretest between High and Low Violence. Level of Violence did not impact intervention efficacy. Elder abuse education altered attitudes, intentions, and behaviors of elder abuse at posttest significantly more than did aging education or control groups (p < .001), but these effects were no longer significant at followup. Elder abuse attitudes had higher relationships with elder abuse intentions and reported past behaviors than did global aging attitudes or aging anxiety (p < .05). General elderly targets yielded more tolerance, intentions, and reported past behaviors of elder abuse than did specific elderly targets (p < .001). Experienced childhood abuse was unrelated to elder abuse expression yielding no support for the role of cycle of violence in elder abuse. Specificity of target mediated elder abuse attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. Primary prevention interventions which aim to reduce tolerance and intentions of elder abuse should include specific information on elder abuse; aging education is ineffective for this goal.

[pt] O presente trabalho visa refletir sobre a intervenção que o Poder Judiciário, no âmbito da Primeira Vara de Infância e Juventude, vem concedendo às diversas manifestações de violência que a ele se apresenta. Diante das complexas, profundas e aceleradas transformações que vêm ocorrendo nos últimos anos em todo o mundo e que vem gerando novas formas de violência, busca-se, a partir da inserção deste fenômeno (violência) no âmbito da sociedade que o engendra e da conceitualização atual existente a seu respeito, a tradução de sua objetivação neste campo jurídico. A configuração atual deste universo do Poder Judiciário, no que se refere às intervenções sobre as situações de violência familiar, foi analisada a partir do conceito de campo formulado por Pierre Bourdieu, enquanto estratégia metodológica, e fundamentada através de uma contextualização histórica e de elementos teóricos discutidos e defendidos na contemporaneidade. As discussões presentes na dissertação têm como base dados pesquisados em processos da Primeira Vara de Infância e Juventude do Rio de Janeiro. Através desta investigação foi possível visualizar uma intervenção ainda disciplinadora e coercitiva da Justiça, em favor da população empobrecida, representada junto à autoridade judicial, neste campo específico, embora, contraditoriamente, também estejam presentes práticas que se distanciam deste caráter disciplinar e coercitivo, indicando possibilidades de mudanças neste campo jurídico . / [en] The objective of the present work is to call to the reflection about the intervention that the Judicial Power, on the jurisdiction of the Primeira Vara de Infância e Juventude (First Civil Court of Childhood and Youth), has been accomplishing with relation to violence manifestations presented to it. The expression of the materialization of the violence phenomenon has been searched in the Juridical field. Facing the complex, profound and sudden transformations which have been occurring during the last years in the whole world, causing new forms of violence, from the point of insertion of this phenomenon in society,which originates it, and from the existing present conceptualization to this respect. The present configuration of this universe of the Judicial Power, in that it refers to the interventions over the situations of domestic violence, has been analyzed from the field concept formulated by Pierre Bourdieu, as the methodological strategy,and based on a historical contextualization, on theoretical elements discussed, and supported in contemporaneity. The present discussions on this dissertation are based on data researched in civil suits at the Primeira Vara de Infância e Juventude (First Civil Court of Childhood and Youth) of Rio de Janeiro. Through this investigation it was made possible to imagine an yet disciplinating and coercive intervention of Justice, in favor of the impoverished population,represented by the judicial authority. In this specific field, there are also present,although opposingly, practices which are far from this disciplinating and coercive character, indicating possibilities of change in this Juridical field.

This dissertation focuses on using one tangible component of filicide, the method or weapon used by a parent to kill a child, as a means by which to understand parental psychology. An evolutionary psychological perspective (e.g., Buss, 2004; Bjorklund & Pellegrini, 2002; Daly & Wilson, 1988; Tooby & Cosmides, 1992) can provide insight into our understanding of filicide. Questions that have not been asked by previous researchers may come to the fore by using an evolutionary perspective as a guide for investigating filicide and its surrounding circumstances and contexts. I present the results of three empirical studies using archival data on filicides recorded in Chicago, Illinois. In Study 1, I present the results of an investigation of parental psychological differences evidenced by the methods of filicide, for filicides recorded between 1965 and 1994. The key results of Study 1 are: (a) while overall (i.e., non-genetic and genetic parents combined), beating was the method of filicide used most often, the percentage of filicides committed by non-genetic parents by beating significantly exceeded the percentage of filicides committed by genetic parents; (b) in contrast, the percentage of filicides committed by non-genetic parents by asphyxiation was significantly less than the percentage of filicides committed by genetic parents. In Studies 2A and 2B, I present the results of an investigation using the 1965-1994 dataset as well as a dataset of filicides-suicides recorded between 1870 and 1930. The key results of these two studies indicate that filicide-suicide may be more likely to occur in certain contexts (e.g., multiple-victim killings) and in certain circumstances (e.g., following paternal filicide). In the final chapter, I discuss the key findings, identify limitations of the current research, and present several future directions for research. / by Viviana A. Weekes. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Os novos sentidos recentemente postos pelo discurso jurídico no que tange à garantia dos direitos e à proteção integral à infância – materializados no Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente – colocam a escola como local privilegiado de identificação das crianças em situação de risco por sofrerem violência doméstica em suas casas e atribuem ao professor o papel de reconhecer e notificar os casos aos Conselhos Tutelares. Tal demanda justifica-se pela gravidade do impacto sobre o desenvolvimento e a saúde provocado pela violência doméstica. O que se verifica, entretanto é que as notificações que chegam aos órgãos competentes vindas da escola ainda são pouco significativas. Objetivou-se com este estudo de abordagem qualitativa, compreender por que a escola silencia diante da violência doméstica praticada contra seus alunos (crianças), através de entrevistas feitas com 06 professores de escolas de município do interior do estado de São Paulo. Além disso, buscou-se identificar as condições de produção desse discurso e discutir a relação entre as influências do contexto em interação com esses sujeitos específicos, dentro da escola e o silêncio sobre a violência doméstica, dentro de uma perspectiva materialista histórica. Os depoimentos dos professores foram tratados e analisados através da Análise do Discurso (AD), conforme pressupostos de Michel Pêcheux, perspectiva teórica que propõe que os sentidos se produzem no confronto sujeito-língua-história, não existindo sentidos dados a priori. Os resultados permitem identificar dois eixos discursivos distintos (dentro da violência e fora da violência) que emergem no interjogo das posições professor-pai. No lugar social do professor, falando sobre a violência, o sujeito critica e nega a violência como estratégia. No lugar de pai/mãe, as falas são outras: quando eu perco a cabeça, infelizmente é o que resta. A análise permitiu concluir que existe uma relação de sentidos que é mais forte, as representações que circulam há tempos ainda têm mais força do que o discurso jurídico atual, incapaz de transformar as práticas. Ainda que o discurso jurídico defina o procedimento no caso da violência doméstica ser identificada pelo professor, a fronteira demarcada entre o público e o privado, entre a escola e a família, acaba por silenciar o professor. O silenciamento ocorre porque o que se demanda da escola – reconhecer e denunciar – é um papel que ela não consegue cumprir: a dúvida que se coloca devido à tensão constitutiva de duas posições em conflito que geram ordens discursivas distintas, leva ao silêncio. / Juridical proceedings have recently acquired new meaning into their contents, regarding the protection of youth rights (until the age of 18), materialized in ECA (a body of laws which defines and protects the rights of children), related specifically to domestic violence exposure. Although domestic violence can impair children’s development and health, and also, that the school is a privileged institution to identify and notify these cases, school’s notification represents only a small proportion of the total reported. Thus, this research aimed to understand why school is an institution that keep silent about this phenomenon, interviewing first grade teachers of private and public schools. We analyzed teachers’s interviews using a qualitative approach (discourse analysis) supported by a materialistic and historical perspective, based on Michel Pecheux’s perspective. We identified on teachers’ answers two major points that justify their scarce notifications: 1) speaking as teachers they deny domestic violence and treat child raising practices as a parental responsibility; 2) as parents, they point that beating is the only viable solution to solve conflicts. The results allow us to conclude that there is an ancient tradition of domestic violence as a child rearing practice, that is still powerful and strong even though a new juridical perspective has emerged and defined intervention. Family and school frontiers or the public and the private relations are still confusing matters, that lead the school and educators to remain in silence, so the role to identify and notify domestic violence is not accomplished.

O uso de punição corporal é altamente frequente e repousa sobre grande aceitabilidade social. As investigações e a discussão sobre no que consiste essa prática e se essa se diferencia do abuso físico ainda são incipientes. A presente investigação pretende contribuir nesta direção ampliando o conhecimento sobre as variações existentes, relativas ao comportamento de castigar fisicamente uma criança/adolescente. Essa foi dividida em dois estudos e os referenciais teóricos adotados foram o Ecológico-transacional proposto por Jay Belsky e o Modelo do Processamento da Informação proposto por Joel Milner. Adotou-se a abordagem quantitativa, com delineamento transversal. Os dados foram coletados utilizando-se os seguintes instrumentos: Questionário de Caracterização Sociodemográfica, Roteiro de Entrevista Semi-estruturada sobre a Prática de Punição Corporal, Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAP), Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales IV (FACES-IV) e o Questionário de Apoio Social (QAS). O objetivo geral do estudo 1 foi o de verificar se grupos de pais, com e sem histórico de notificação ao Sistema de Proteção Infantil, por abuso físico, se diferenciariam quanto à forma de se aplicar a punição corporal e no plano de variáveis apontadas pela literatura científica como fatores de risco para o abuso físico. A amostra do estudo 1 foi formada por dois grupos de pais/responsáveis: o A (n=47), composto por pais sem histórico de notificação por maus-tratos e o B (n=40), composto por cuidadores assinalados ao Sistema de Proteção. Empreenderam-se análises estatísticas descritivas e comparações. Os resultados indicaram que os pais do grupo B teriam prática de castigo corporal mais grave, em termos de modalidade, partes do corpo da criança sob as quais essa incidiria, frequência e presença de sentimento de irritação ou raiva durante a ação. Ainda, estariam mais expostos aos diversos fatores de risco pesquisados: maior desconforto psicológico maior instabilidade emocional, sentimentos de inadequação, baixa autoestima, tristeza, ansiedade, confusão e maior rigidez quanto ao padrão de funcionamento cognitivo; menor satisfação conjugal, laços familiares mais frágeis e família como menor capacidade de fazer mudanças em papéis e em regras; maior vulnerabilidade econômica e menor apoio social. O objetivo geral do estudo 2 foi verificar se na amostra como um todo existiriam subgrupos que se diferenciariam quanto ao comportamento de castigar fisicamente e, em caso positivo, analisar as características de cada subgrupo quanto aos fatores de risco mencionados. Empreenderam-se procedimentos estatísticos de clusterização. Identificou-se, assim, a existência de três subgrupos de pais que se discriminariam tanto em relação ao nível de gravidade da punição corporal empregada, quanto em relação a variáveis psicossociais. Notou-se agravamento do comportamento de punição corporal do agrupamento 1 para o 2, e deste para o 3. Quanto aos fatores de risco, os agrupamentos 1 e 2 apresentaram mais semelhanças do que dissemelhanças, sendo que o 3 mostrou-se o mais vulnerável de todos. A análise pormenorizada dos padrões de punição e dos fatores associados denota a natureza heterogênea do fenômeno, o que oferece subsídios importantes para o planejamento de intervenções que sejam específicas às necessidades de cada subgrupo. Apesar dos limites metodológicos da investigação, essa, além da contribuição, colocou novas questões para pesquisas futuras / The use of corporal punishment is highly frequent and it lies on great social approval. The investigations and discussions about what this practice consists of and if it differs from physical abuse are still incipient. The present investigation aims to contribute to these discussions, broadening the knowledge on the existent variations, related to the behavior of physically punishing a child/adolescent. This investigation was divided into two studies and the adopted theoretical references were the Ecological-transactional model proposed by Jay Belsky and the Information Processing Model proposed by Joel Milner. A quantitative approach was adopted, with a transverse delineation. The data were collected with the use of the following instruments: Questionnaire of Social-Demographic Characterization, Semi-Structured Interview Protocol on the Practice of Corporal Punishment, Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAP), Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales IV (FACES-IV) and the Questionnaire of Social Support (QAS). The general objective of study 1 was to verify if groups of parents with a record of physical abuse in the Child Protection Service would differ from groups of parents without the same background, regarding the corporal punishment application and the variables signaled by the scientific literature as risk factors for physical abuse. The sample of the study consisted of two groups: A (n=47), of parents without a record for maltreatments and B (n=40), of caregivers reported to Child Protection. Descriptive statistical analyses and comparisons were made. The results indicated that parents from group B would practice more severe corporal punishment, in terms of modalities, inflicted parts of the body of the child, frequency and presence of irritation or anger feelings during the action. Moreover, they would be more exposed to several researched risk factors: greater psychological discomfort higher emotional instability, inadequacy feelings, low self-esteem, sadness, anxiety, confusion and more stiffness in the cognitive functioning pattern; lower marital satisfaction, more fragile family bonds and a family less capable of making changes in roles and rules; more economic vulnerability and lower social support. The general objective of study 2 was to verify in the whole sample if there were subgroups that would differ according to the behavior of physically punishing, and if so, to analyze the characteristics of each subgroup regarding the mentioned risk factors. Statistical cluster analyses were accomplished. It was identified the existence of three subgroups of parents who would differ according to the severity of the applied corporal punishment and to the psychosocial variables. It was noted an aggravation on the behavior of corporal punishing in group 1, in relation to group 2, and from group 2 in relation to group 3. Regarding the risk factors, groups 1 and 2 presented more similarities than differences, and group 3 was shown as the most vulnerable one. The detailed analysis of the punishment patterns and the associated risks indicates the heterogeneous nature of the phenomenon, which offers important data to intervention plans that are specific to each groups need. Although there were methodological limitations in this investigation, it contributed to the issue and posed new questions to future researches