Early maladaptive schemas as mediators between child maltreatment and dating violence in adolescence

This study investigated the association between exposure to child maltreatment and dating physical violence in the affective-sexual relationship among adolescents (n =397, 14-19 years). A mediation model was conducted to determine whether these associations can be mediated by early maladaptive schemas (EMS), from the Schema Therapy's theoretical approach. Also, it sought to verify the invariant model by gender. The results showed that teen dating violence perpetrators with a history of child maltreatment had significantly higher scores in the perpetration of intimate violence than adolescents with no history of maltreatment. Disconnection and rejection realm schemas were mediators between exposure to child maltreatment and dating physical violence in adolescence, and this model was adequate to females. The clinical implications of these findings were also discussed.

Intrafamily violence: Brazilian adaptation and psychometric evidence of the Children’s Natural Environment Signaling Scale

Abstract This study aimed to adapt the Children’s Natural Environment Signaling Scale to the Brazilian context, gathering evidence of validity and precision. Specifically, it sought to verify the presence of violent behavior in the adolescents’ family environment and to identify the victims of this type of violence. A total of 249 adolescents, between 13 and 19 years old, participated this study. The results pointed to the existence of few situations of intrafamily violence, with the most frequent victims being children and adolescents. As for the instrument, the confirmatory factor analysis revealed adequate adjustment indexes, confirming the original model of the scale, composed of four factors: physical abuse, emotional abuse, coercion, and control. The reliability, assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and McDonald’s omega coefficients, showed similar satisfactory indicators ranging from 0.69 to 0.81. The importance of having a psychometrically robust instrument is highlighted, making it possible to assess intrafamily violence in the Brazilian context.