<p>The international concern about human rights, gender equality, domestic violence and the increase in the aging populations has brought elder abuse into the public focus. Elder abuse is a complex, multi-faceted health, social, criminal justice, international public health and human rights issue. The widely divergent and varying definitions is a controversial problem to understanding elder abuse. The elderly have been excluded from national gender-based programs on domestic violence and the abuse of women and children. In South Africa victims of elder abuse are often physically and or cognitively unable to speak for themselves which necessitates that the public be empowered and trained to become advocates for the aged. Lachs &amp / Pillemer ( 2004 : 1265 ) states that &ldquo / the physical and psychological impairement of elder persons could be predisposing factors for elder abuse &ldquo / . Statistical evidence on the incidence and prevalence rates of elder abuse is lacking as elderly persons are reluctant to identify care givers for fear of abandonment, retaliation and being left destitute ( Lachs &amp / Pillemer, 2004 : 1265 ). Despite the Bill of Rights as set out in the South African Constitution and the Older Persons Act, No. 13 of 2006 which was developed to deal with the empowerment and protection of elder persons and promote and maintain their status, rights, safety, security and well being the abuse of elder person continues to occur ( Older Persons Act, No. 13 of 2006 ). This qualitative research study is allied with the phenomenological approach in an attempt to understand elder person&rsquo / s perception, viewpoints and perspectives from their lived experiences and personal lives. Three (3) focus group discussions and eighteen (18) one-on-one interviews were conducted with elder persons living in the suburbs of Cape Town. Data from participants were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim before an inductive analysis lead to the emergence of broad themes and patterns. The main findings of the research study concluded that elderly persons were informed but not empowered about financial, emotional and verbal abuse. The abuse of the elder person in old age homes also featured prominently. The findings of the research study can be used to provide education and empower elder persons and the general public on specific aspects related to elder abuse which are : Financial, Emotional, Verbal and the abuse by staff at old age homes. These findings could be utilized by health and social welfare advocates and organisations who offer community educational and development programs to advocate against elder abuse.</p>

Introduction: Homelessness is a living condition associated with a number of adverse health outcomes. Unaccompanied homeless youth are at risk for many of the same health outcomes as other homeless persons, but these youth are especially vulnerable because they are young and without the protection or support of an adult caregiver. Aim: The purpose of this capstone project is to present a basic overview of the topic as well as to highlight what more needs to be done to address this issue. Methods: This project involved a review of the literature related to homeless youth, child sexual or physical abuse, and mental health issues associated abused and/or homeless youth, focusing on United States information, for the years 1995 to present. Discussion: to discuss current prevention and intervention efforts, and to discuss needs for future research and intervention

<p>The international concern about human rights, gender equality, domestic violence and the increase in the aging populations has brought elder abuse into the public focus. Elder abuse is a complex, multi-faceted health, social, criminal justice, international public health and human rights issue. The widely divergent and varying definitions is a controversial problem to understanding elder abuse. The elderly have been excluded from national gender-based programs on domestic violence and the abuse of women and children. In South Africa victims of elder abuse are often physically and or cognitively unable to speak for themselves which necessitates that the public be empowered and trained to become advocates for the aged. Lachs &amp / Pillemer ( 2004 : 1265 ) states that &ldquo / the physical and psychological impairement of elder persons could be predisposing factors for elder abuse &ldquo / . Statistical evidence on the incidence and prevalence rates of elder abuse is lacking as elderly persons are reluctant to identify care givers for fear of abandonment, retaliation and being left destitute ( Lachs &amp / Pillemer, 2004 : 1265 ). Despite the Bill of Rights as set out in the South African Constitution and the Older Persons Act, No. 13 of 2006 which was developed to deal with the empowerment and protection of elder persons and promote and maintain their status, rights, safety, security and well being the abuse of elder person continues to occur ( Older Persons Act, No. 13 of 2006 ). This qualitative research study is allied with the phenomenological approach in an attempt to understand elder person&rsquo / s perception, viewpoints and perspectives from their lived experiences and personal lives. Three (3) focus group discussions and eighteen (18) one-on-one interviews were conducted with elder persons living in the suburbs of Cape Town. Data from participants were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim before an inductive analysis lead to the emergence of broad themes and patterns. The main findings of the research study concluded that elderly persons were informed but not empowered about financial, emotional and verbal abuse. The abuse of the elder person in old age homes also featured prominently. The findings of the research study can be used to provide education and empower elder persons and the general public on specific aspects related to elder abuse which are : Financial, Emotional, Verbal and the abuse by staff at old age homes. These findings could be utilized by health and social welfare advocates and organisations who offer community educational and development programs to advocate against elder abuse.</p>

Bakgrund: Under år 2012 ökade anmälningarna av barnmisshandel. Barnmisshandel oavsett art innebär alltid en kränkning för barnet och om det dessutom sker av en anhörig har barnet förlorat den person som ska stå för den fasta tryggheten. Både fysisk misshandel, psykisk misshandel eller omsorgsvikt skadar barnet allvarligt och innebär stora hälsoproblem för barnet. Därför var det av stor vikt att identifiera barnet i ett tidigt skede för att kunna ge stöd och agera utefter behov. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att belysa distriktssköterskans erfarenhet av att se och identifiera kännetecken på ett misshandlat barn. Metod: En induktiv ansats valdes och fyra distriktssköterskor i Hallands län med erfarenhet av ämnet intervjuades. En intervjuguide med semistrukturerade frågor användes och materialet analyserades utifrån kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Att arbeta som distriktssköterska innebar att vara barnets ombud och alltid se till barnets bästa och arbeta utifrån barnperspektivet samt att främja dess hälsa. Det var av stor vikt att så tidigt som möjligt få inblick i barnets familjesituation samt att skapa en bra relation till föräldrarna för att kunna identifiera ett misshandlat barn så tidigt som möjligt. Slutsats: Med ökad kunskap om kännetecken och symtom på barnmisshandel och kunskap om hur en tidig upptäckt av barnmisshandel kan ske, ökar barnets möjlighet till tidig stöttning och hjälp. Med fortsatt forskning, utbildning och utveckling av redskap ökar chanserna att upptäcka de misshandlade barnet i ett tidigt skede.

Submitted by Alison Vanceto (alison-vanceto@hotmail.com) on 2017-08-28T14:31:28Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseNRLL.pdf: 7812363 bytes, checksum: dd2fc3efde7d3cec4ab57dac3ed313dc (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-09-06T17:24:52Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseNRLL.pdf: 7812363 bytes, checksum: dd2fc3efde7d3cec4ab57dac3ed313dc (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ronildo Prado (ronisp@ufscar.br) on 2017-09-06T17:25:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseNRLL.pdf: 7812363 bytes, checksum: dd2fc3efde7d3cec4ab57dac3ed313dc (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-06T18:05:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseNRLL.pdf: 7812363 bytes, checksum: dd2fc3efde7d3cec4ab57dac3ed313dc (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-16 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / The present dissertation is composed of a compendium of four scientific papers with the common theme of prevention of abusive head trauma (AHT), a serious type of infant maltreatment. The first article describes a review of the Brazilian and international literature on the main strategies of AHT prevention. A total of 34 articles describing 20 initiatives to prevent AHT were selected, five of which aimed at reducing infant crying, three aimed at caregiver’s emotional regulation, and 12 aimed at raising parents and caregivers’ awareness on AHT. Among them, parental education about infant crying and risks of shaking a baby stands out for its empirical evidence. The second article describes the process of elaboration and assessment of validity evidence based on internal structure of the Attitudes towards an Infant Crying Scale, developed for evaluation of parental attitude towards the baby's crying during the first months of life. After exploratory factor analysis, the final version of the scale was composed of 50 items, divided into six components: Consequences of Shaking the Baby, Welfare of the Caregiver, Strategies Targeting the Baby, Strategies Targeting the Caregiver, Beliefs about Baby Care and Characteristics of Infant Crying. The scale appears to be promising with respect to the objective of evaluating the attitude of parents and caregivers about infant crying and in evaluating AHT prevention programs. The third study describes the evaluation of a brief intervention to increase knowledge on AHT among parents of children up to two years old. A total of 254 parents who attended pregnancy or puerperal groups in six municipalities in the State of São Paulo participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: Experimental Group (EG) or a waiting list Control Group (CG). The intervention involved showing an educational video and reading a pamphlet on AHT. To measure parental knowledge, the Attitudes towards the Infant Crying Scale was used. An increase in participants' knowledge about consequences of shaking, caregiver’s wellbeing, caregiver strategies to deal with crying, beliefs about infant care and about characteristics of infant crying were observed in the EG at posttest. Finally, the fourth article describes the evaluation of a training program for Health Care professionals about AHT. The training consisted of a four-unit course (two hours per unit), in which the topics of family violence, child abuse, abusive head trauma and prevention strategies were addressed. A total of 13 professionals from Basic Health Units from a city in the State of São Paulo participated in the study. Participants were randomly divided into two groups: Experimental Group (EG) and a Wait-List Control Group (CG). The experimental design for the EG was pre-test - intervention - post-test - follow-up and for the CG was pre-test 1 - pre-test 2 - post-test - intervention. The Attitudes towards the Infant Crying Scale was used. After training, participants' knowledge about caregiver strategies to deal with crying related to caregiver and to baby and characteristics of infant crying increased for EG participants. The increase in knowledge about caregiver strategies to deal with crying related to caregiver and characteristics of infant crying was maintained at follow-up, suggesting the effectiveness of this training in increasing knowledge on AHT among health professionals. / A presente tese é composta por um compêndio de quatro artigos científicos que têm como temática comum a prevenção do trauma craniano violento (TCV), uma forma grave de maustratos contra bebês. O primeiro artigo descreve uma revisão da literatura nacional e internacional sobre as principais estratégias de prevenção do TCV. Foram selecionados 34 artigos que descreviam 20 iniciativas para prevenção do TCV, sendo que cinco tinham como objetivo reduzir o choro nos primeiros meses de vida, três visavam a regulação emocional do cuidador e 12 visavam aumentar a sensibilização de pais sobre esta forma de maus-tratos. Dentre estas estratégias, a educação parental sobre o choro nos primeiros meses de vida e os riscos de sacudir um bebê se destacou por suas evidências empíricas de efetividade. O segundo artigo descreve o processo de elaboração e investigação das evidências de validade com base na estrutura interna da Escala de Atitudes frente ao Choro do Bebê, desenvolvida para avaliação da atitude de pais frente ao choro do bebê nos primeiros meses de vida. Após análise fatorial exploratória, a escala ficou composta por 50 itens divididos em seis fatores, sendo eles: Consequências de Sacudir o Bebê, Estratégias para Bem-Estar do Cuidador, Estratégias para lidar com Choro relacionadas ao Bebê, Estratégias para lidar com o Choro relacionadas ao Cuidador, Crenças sobre o Cuidado do Bebê e Características do Choro do Bebê. A escala parece ser um instrumento promissor para avaliar a atitude de pais e cuidadores sobre o choro do bebê nos primeiros meses de vida e para ser utilizado na avaliação de programas de prevenção do TCV. O terceiro estudo que compõe a presente tese descreve a avaliação da eficácia de uma intervenção breve para o aumento de conhecimento sobre o TCV entre pais de crianças com até dois anos. Participaram do estudo 254 pais de crianças com até dois anos que frequentavam grupos de gestantes ou de puerpério em seis municípios do Estado de São Paulo. Os participantes foram divididos aleatoriamente em dois grupos: Experimental (GE) e Controle de Espera (GC), sendo que o delineamento experimental para o GE foi pré-teste – intervenção - pós-teste - follow-up e para o GC foi préteste 1 – pré-teste 2 – intervenção. A intervenção consistiu na exibição de um vídeo educativo e leitura de um panfleto sobre a SBS. Para avaliação do conhecimento foi utilizado a Escala de Atitudes Frente ao Choro do Bebê. Foi observado aumento do conhecimento dos participantes sobre as consequências de se sacudir o bebê, o bem-estar do cuidador, as estratégias para lidar com o choro do bebê relacionadas ao cuidador, as crenças sobre o cuidado do bebê e as características do choro do bebê nos primeiros meses de vida. Este aumento do conhecimento foi mantido após um mês da intervenção, sugerindo sua efetividade. Por fim, o quarto artigo descreve a avaliação de um curso de capacitação a profissionais da Atenção Básica em Saúde sobre o TCV. A capacitação consistiu em um curso de quatro módulos com duas horas de duração cada, em que foram abordadas as temáticas da violência intrafamiliar, maus-tratos infantis, trauma craniano violento e estratégias de prevenção. Participaram do estudo 13 profissionais de Unidades Básicas de Saúde de um município do Estado de São Paulo. Os participantes foram divididos aleatoriamente em dois grupos: Grupo Experimental (GE) e Grupo Controle de Espera (GC), de modo que o delineamento para o GE foi pré-teste – intervenção – pós-teste – follow-up e para o GC foi pré-teste 1 – pré-teste 2 - pós-teste – intervenção. Para avaliação do conhecimento dos profissionais foi utilizado a Escala de Atitudes Frente ao Choro do Bebê. Ao final da avaliação, foi observado aumento do conhecimento dos participantes sobre as estratégias para lidar com o choro do bebê relacionadas ao bebê e ao cuidador e as características do choro do bebê nos primeiros meses de vida. Foi observada a manutenção do aumento de conhecimento sobre as estratégias para lidar com o choro relacionadas ao cuidador e as características do choro do bebê, sugerindo a efetividade da capacitação em aumentar o conhecimento dos profissionais sobre o TCV. / FAPESP: 2012/25234-1 / FAPESP: 2014/15300-2

abstract: This study presents a structural model of coping with dating violence. The model integrates abuse frequency and solution attribution to determine a college woman's choice of coping strategy. Three hundred, twenty-four undergraduate women reported being targets of some physical abuse from a boyfriend and responded to questions regarding the abuse, their gender role beliefs, their solution attribution and the coping behaviors they executed. Though gender role beliefs and abuse severity were not significant predictors, solution attribution mediated between frequency of the abuse and coping. Abuse frequency had a positive effect on external solution attribution and external solution attribution had a positive effect on the level of use of active coping, utilization of social support, denial and acceptance. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Counseling Psychology 2011

Sabe-se que o fenômeno dos maus-tratos se constitui em uma problemática complexa que envolve na sua etiologia vários fatores, sendo necessária a observação deste fenômeno por uma perspectiva multidimensional. A abordagem Ecológico-Sistêmica do desenvolvimento humano e o modelo teórico Transacional pressupõem, respectivamente, a existência de diversos contextos e variáveis de risco que se influenciam mutuamente para a produção dos maus-tratos. Dentro disto, numerosas pesquisas, principalmente no âmbito internacional, têm encontrado associação significativa entre a problemática dos maus-tratos e variáveis no nível ontogenético, no microssistema, e no exossistema, dispondo-se inclusive de um conhecimento quanto às especificidades referentes a cada tipo de maus-tratos em particular. Neste panorama, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo verificar se a associação entre determinados fatores de risco atinentes à figura do cuidador e os maus-tratos físicos seria encontrada na realidade brasileira. Vale destacar que os fatores priorizados no estudo referem-se a aspectos psicológicos, como a angústia, nível de estresse associado à função parental, nível de apoio social, estilo parental e histórico de maus-tratos na própria infância. Para tanto, comparou-se dois grupos de pais/cuidadores, sendo um notificado ao Conselho Tutelar devido a abusos físicos contra os filhos (Grupo Clínico) e outro sem histórico conhecido de abuso (Grupo de Comparação), ambos constituídos por trinta participantes (n=60), pareados entre si em características sócio-demográficas, como nível econômico e educacional, situação conjugal e número de filhos / crianças sob seus cuidados. O primeiro grupo foi recrutado a partir dos registros do Conselho Tutelar e o segundo foi composto por conveniência, a partir de indicações, na comunidade. Os instrumentos utilizados para a coleta de dados tiveram a função de avaliar um ou mais fatores de risco, sendo eles: o Child Abuse Potential Inventory CAP; o Índice de Estresse Parental ISP; o Inventário de Estilos Parentais IEP; o Questionário de Apoio Social - QAS e a Entrevista da História da Infância do Adulto. É necessário sublinhar que também foi utilizado um Questionário de Caracterização Sócio-demográfica, sendo que os dados coletados com este instrumento permitiam caracterizar os respondentes para proceder à equiparação dos grupos, mas também levantar algumas informações referentes a variáveis de risco no plano sócio-demográfico. Cada instrumento foi corrigido segundo seus próprios critérios, sendo que os dados obtidos puderam ser categorizados e comparados estatisticamente por meio do teste t de Student para amostras independentes ou Mann Whitney Rank Sum Test, quando necessário. Os dados obtidos com a História da Infância do Adulto foram, primeiramente, analisados descritivamente, por meio da obtenção de freqüências e porcentagens e, quando possível, utilizou-se o teste Qui-quadrado ou o teste Exato de Fisher, para também comparar estatisticamente os grupos, adotando-se como nível de significância p 0,05. Os resultados encontrados indicaram diferenças significativas (p< 0,05) entre os grupos para a maioria das dimensões que compõem a Escala de Abuso do CAP: angústia, rigidez, problemas com a criança e consigo e problemas com os outros, verificando-se um maior potencial de risco para os participantes do grupo clínico em relação ao grupo de comparação. Quanto ao ISP, os grupos apresentaram diferenças em relação à dimensão características da criança e no escore total, indicando que o grupo clínico vive mais estresse nas interações com a criança do que o grupo de comparação. No IEP os grupos se diferenciaram somente na dimensão monitoria positiva, denotando que o grupo clínico emprega com menos freqüência práticas positivas na educação dos filhos que o grupo de comparação. O QAS diferenciou os grupos nas dimensões de apoio afetivo, de interação social positiva e no escore total, apontando também que os participantes do grupo clínico se percebem com menos apoio social do que o grupo de comparação. A análise da História da Infância indicou que de forma geral, os adultos pertencentes ao grupo clínico viveram mais situações difíceis na infância que o grupo de comparação, sendo que estas, por vezes, se configuraram em situações de maus-tratos. Os grupos se diferenciaram também no que se refere a duas variáveis sócio-demográficas específicas: a idade do responsável por ocasião do nascimento do primeiro filho e o grau de satisfação com o bairro, denotando que os participantes do grupo clínico eram mais jovens que os do grupo de comparação por ocasião do nascimento do primeiro filho, tendo em média 19 anos, e que também eram mais insatisfeitos com o local de moradia que os do grupo de comparação. Os resultados permitem dizer que as variáveis que discriminam os dois grupos compõem indicadores de risco para os maus-tratos físicos em nosso contexto sócio-cultural, corroborando o que é apresentado na literatura científica, quanto aos fatores que reiteradamente têm se mostrado associados ao problema no âmbito internacional. Todos eles, tomados em separado ou conjuntamente, podem servir para orientar o desenvolvimento e a avaliação de programas de prevenção primária e/ou secundária, na comunidade. / Child maltreatment is a complex problem that involves in your etiology several factors, being necessary a multiform perspective to understand it. The Ecological-Systemic approach of human development and the Transactional theoretical model presuppose, respectively, the existence of several contexts and variables of risk that are influenced itself mutually for the production of the maltreatments. The present study aimed to establish whether exists or not association between certain risk factors relating to parents and physical abuse in Brazilian reality. The psychological aspects investigated were: distress, level of stress associated to the parental function, level of social support, parental style and historical of maltreatments in the own childhood. Two groups composed by thirty participants were compared (n=60): the first one was composed by parents who were reported to child protection agencies due to physical abuse against their children (Clinical Group) and the second one had no historical abuse (comparison group) composed by convenience form indications from the community. Both group were matched in social-demographics characteristics, as economic and educational level, conjugal situation and number of own children or children under its cares. The instruments used for data collection were: Child Abuse Potential Inventory CAP; the Parenting Stress Index ISP; the Inventário de Estilos Parentais IEP; the Questionário de Apoio Social QAS and the Entrevista da História da Infância do Adulto. Instruments were codified and statistical analyses were made to compare data from the two groups. Significance level was p 0,05. Results pointed out significant differences between the two groups for most of the dimensions from CAP Abuse Scale: distress, rigidity, problems with child and self, and problems from others. It was also verified a higher risk potential for physical abuse related to the participants of the clinical group. With regards to ISP, the groups presented differences related to the child\'s characteristic dimension and in its total score, pointing that clinical group has more stress during interactions with their children than comparison group. The IEP showed differences between groups only for the dimension of positive supervision, denoting that the clinical group uses less frequently positive practices in the children\'s education. QAS differentiated the groups in the dimensions of affective support, of positive social interaction and in the total score which means that clinical group has less social support than the comparison group. The analysis of the history of the Childhood indicated that in a general way, the adults belonging to the clinical group had lived more difficult situations than the comparison group. The two groups also differed in two specific social-demographic variables: the age of mother/father at the first child\'s birth and the satisfaction degree related to neighborhood, denoting that the participants of the clinical group were younger in the occasion of the first child\'s birth (median= 19 years old) and that they were also more unsatisfied with the home place. The results allow us to say that the variables that discriminate the two groups are indicators of risk for physical maltreatments in our social-cultural context. That corroborate with what is pointed in the scientific literature, with relation to factors that repeatedly have been showed associated to the problem of physical maltreatment in the international ambit. These results may help us, in Brazilian context, guiding the development and the evaluation of primary or secondary prevention programs in the community.

Magister Curationis - MCur / The international concern about human rights, gender equality, domestic violence and the increase in the aging populations has brought elder abuse into the public focus. Elder abuse is a complex, multi-faceted health, social, criminal justice, international public health and human rights issue. The widely divergent and varying definitions is a controversial problem to understanding elder abuse. The elderly have been excluded from national gender-based programs on domestic violence and the abuse of women and children. In South Africa victims of elder abuse are often physically and or cognitively unable to speak for themselves which necessitates that the public be empowered and trained to become advocates for the aged. Lachs & Pillemer ( 2004 : 1265 ) states that "the physical and psychological impairement of elder persons could be predisposing factors for elder abuse ". Statistical evidence on the incidence and prevalence rates of elder abuse is lacking as elderly persons are reluctant to identify care givers for fear of abandonment, retaliation and being left destitute ( Lachs & Pillemer, 2004 : 1265 ). Despite the Bill of Rights as set out in the South African Constitution and the Older Persons Act, No. 13 of 2006 which was developed to deal with the empowerment and protection of elder persons and promote and maintain their status, rights, safety, security and well being the abuse of elder person continues to occur ( Older Persons Act, No. 13 of 2006 ). This qualitative research study is allied with the phenomenological approach in an attempt to understand elder person&rsquo;s perception, viewpoints and perspectives from their lived experiences and personal lives. Three (3) focus group discussions and eighteen (18) one-on-one interviews were conducted with elder persons living in the suburbs of Cape Town. Data from participants were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim before an inductive analysis lead to the emergence of broad themes and patterns. The main findings of the research study concluded that elderly persons were informed but not empowered about financial, emotional and verbal abuse. The abuse of the elder person in old age homes also featured prominently. The findings of the research study can be used to provide education and empower elder persons and the general public on specific aspects related to elder abuse which are : Financial, Emotional, Verbal and the abuse by staff at old age homes. These findings could be utilized by health and social welfare advocates and organisations who offer community educational and development programs to advocate against elder abuse. / South Africa

This study aims to explore the experiences and coping mechanisms of black middle class women who remain in abusive marital relationships. The study also aimed to explore the reasons black women attach towards remaining in marital abusive relationships. Even though our current democratic Government has put efforts towards fighting against domestic abuse, South Africa is still characterised by high rates of domestic abuse. In South Africa a woman has about one in three chances of being violated in her life time, which puts it amongst the highest statistics of violence in the world, with one in six women standing a chance of being abused by her intimate partner in her lifetime (People Opposing Women Abuse, 2005). Domestic abuse does not just involve minor forms of physical assault, but, frequently, serious injury and even death. According to statistics from the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation at Wits University, one woman is murdered by her partner every six days in the Gauteng province in South Africa. Qualitative approach, as well as literature review and in-depth interviews have been used in order to study the experiences of abused women in the Mpumalanga province at KwaMhlanga. The theoretical approach used was (i) Social Learning Theories which focused on the mechanisms whereby family members influences each other through modelling, reinforcement and coercion to behave violently, (ii) The feminist theory in which the origins of abuse included stereotyping and patriarchal values, (iii) the General Systems Theory which demonstrates that abuse cannot be explained by focusing on an individual level, but rather that systems interact and as they interact, they influence the reaction of others. General System’s theory was used as the backdrop of the study because it provided a broader understanding of how abuse occurs within a family system and hence allowed the researcher to explore the experiences and coping mechanisms of women who remain in abusive marital relationships. Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants. The criteria included that the participants were currently in abusive marital relationships and had at least a tertiary qualification and were employed in middle management job position. Nine participants were interviewed using individual in depth interviews. The interviews were audio recorded and field notes were taken. Data was analysed qualitatively. Five broad categories formed a framework for the analysis. (i) The Experiences of abused women, (ii) the Impact of remaining in an abusive relationship, (iii) the Meaning attached to staying, (iv) the Coping mechanisms used by abused women, (v) and Social support. The themes were coded in form of numbers, counting the number of times the theme occurs in an interview, data was collected until a level of saturation was reached. The themes were then compared and integrated with the literature. The study concludes that abuse occurs in all social groups and that a complexity of factors contribute towards black middle class women resorting to remaining in marital abusive relationships, for example, culture and societal beliefs and structures, personality factors, and lack of support. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

Syftet med denna studie har varit att undersöka ungdomars attityder gällande fysiskt samt sexuellt våld i en känslomässig relation samt deras kännedom om samtyckeslagen och grov kvinnofridskränkning. För att kunna besvara syftet har enkäter delats ut på gymnasieskolor i Malmö vilka ungdomar i åldrarna 16 till 19 år har besvarat. Resultatet visar att det finns en generellt låg acceptans avseende fysiskt och sexuellt våld i en känslomässig relation, för både tjejer och killar. Däremot visar killar en någor högre acceptans än tjejer. Acceptansen för sexuellt våld visade sig även vara något högre i en icke definierad relation jämfört med en fast partnerrelation. Vidare visar resultatet att majoriteten av ungdomarna känner till samtyckeslagen. Däremot är kännedomen om grov kvinnofridskränkning och dess innebörd låg. Den här undersökningen är av explorativ ansats vilket påverkar resultatens generaliserbarhet. Om en mer djupgående forskning av ämnet utförts, hade det troligen genererat en mer beskrivande bild avseende acceptansen för våld i en känslomässig relation. / The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes regarding physical and sexual dating violence and knowledge of two swedish laws: “samtyckeslagen” and “grov kvinnofridskränkning”, amongst Swedish adolescents in the ages of 16 to 19 years old. To be able to fulfill the purpose of this study, a survey was distributed to different high schools in Malmö which the adolescents at the schools answered. The results from our study show that adolescents have a low tolerance for dating violence, regarding physical and sexual abuse. Although boys showed a greater acceptance towards physical and sexual abuse than girls. The acceptance for using physical and sexual abuse was greater in a non defined relationship, than in a defined relationship. Most adolescents had some knowledge of “samtyckeslagen” but very few knew of “grov kvinnofridskränkning”. This study was of an explorative nature which effects how the results can be used. Our results have shown that more thorough studies regarding dating violence should be done. Which would generate a deeper understanding for attitudes and therefore acceptance towards dating violence.