NCJ Number
205938
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 25 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2001 Pages: 839-853
Editor(s)
Richard D. Krugman
Date Published
June 2001
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study explored the family structure and the characteristics of both caretakers and children and investigated factors associated with intrafamily violence toward children in a known region of Italy.
Abstract
Past surveys indicate that intrafamily violence is a problem. Many different risk factors have been associated, in the past decades, with family violence. However, most of these factors cannot be considered necessarily a sufficient cause of intrafamily violence in any situation. A large number of risk factors were selected from past literature, potentially relevant to the region chosen to be investigated Tuscany, Italy. The study assessed the association between risk factors and intrafamily violence to test the hypothesis that child physical abuse is related to a combination of different factors involving the family as a whole: the higher the number of possible problems for a family, the higher the probability that violence may arise. In addition, the hypothesis that minor and severe violence were two distinct aspects of the same phenomenon was assessed. A questionnaire was administered, derived from the conflict tactics (CT) scales to a large number of families residing in Tuscany. The questionnaires were submitted to 2,388 families. The findings indicate that physical punishment appeared to be a general behavior in Italy, because about three-fourths of the caretakers interviewed declared to have thrown something at the child, pushed, grabbed, or shoved the child, or slapped/spanked the child during the survey year. Severe forms of violence were much less common. The results confirmed the hypothesis that child physical abuse is related to a combination of different factors involving the family as a whole. In summary, the study indicates that there may exist an important balance between potentiating and compensatory factors, or of stressors and resources in the complex and dynamic relationships among family members, to avoid strategies of conflict resolution ultimately leading to violence. It also revealed that minor and severe violence may represent two related but distinct phenomena. References