The prevalence of exposure to domestic violence among high school students in tehran

Adolescents' Experiences of Parental Intimate Partner Violence: A Review of Qualitative Literature

There is a growing body of qualitative research documenting the experiences of children growing up in the context of parental intimate partner violence (PIPV). Adolescents form an especially vulnerable group; yet there persists a systematic marginalization of their PIPV experiences in child maltreatment and violence exposure research. Qualitative research on adolescent PIPV perspectives can potentially amplify their voices and emphasize their unmet support needs and their developmentally unique strengths in achieving resilient outcomes. This can further inform adolescent- and youth-specific community and clinical intervention development and larger policy reform. This qualitative literature review includes 33 studies identified through an online research database search. Qualitative or mixed methods primary research studies that sampled adolescent participants aged from 13 to 19 years, published in English in peer-reviewed journals, and objectivizing any aspect of adolescent PIPV experience were included. Quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program checklist. Findings across studies were synthesized into eight overarching themes: Stifled Freedom and Autonomy; The Parentified Protector; Coping through Mental Escape, Creative Expression, and Cultural Identity; Older, Stronger, and Smarter during PIPV; Polyvictimization; Gender, Violence Acceptability and Dating Violence; and Felt Support Needs. This review sets the agenda for further qualitative, adolescent-first inquiry into the experiences of adolescents growing up with interparental violence, especially in low- to middle-income countries where intimate partner and spousal violence along with children and adolescents' experience of it are doubly prevalent compared to the developed world.

Childhood exposure to domestic violence: can global estimates on the scale of exposure be obtained using existing measures?

Purpose

Childhood exposure to domestic violence and abuse (DVA) can lead to major short- and long-term effects on the victim. Despite this, there is no accepted measure for children's experiences, with most existing measures being validated only in high income countries and not in low- and middle- income countries. As a result, international statistics are not comparable. This paper seeks to critically appraise existing measures and discuss whether any are fit-for-purpose on a global scale.

Method

The COSMIN PROMs approach was followed to critically appraise and compare the appropriateness of measures. A comprehensive literature search was undertaken in seven journal databases for measures mentioned in formally peer-reviewed articles exploring childhood exposure to DVA.

Results

A literature search resulted in the identification of 10 measures and, following criteria to only keep original measures and remove modifications, four measures which have been validated cross-culturally are discussed in detail in line with the COSMIN PROMs criterion: The Child Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale, Children's Perception of Interparental Conflict Scale, Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire and The Violence Exposure Scale for Children. Strengths and limitations of each are discussed, along with any validations undertaken not in the country of origin.

Conclusion

Despite childhood exposure to DVA being an urgent research priority worldwide, the current measures to explore the extent of the issue are not validated cross-culturally, leading to concerns about comparisons across different population groups. The development and implementation of interventions to reduce the levels and effects of exposure relies heavily on cross-cultural comparisons, which may indicate different strategies are needed in different contexts. The lack of these validated comparisons is constraining advances, and the paper advocates for further efforts to be made in this regard.

The Validity and Reliability of Malay Version Child Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale

Background

Domestic violence has a significant impact on growing children. However, existing evidence is limited and often under reported. Consequently, the Child Exposure to Domestic Violence (CEDV) scale has been developed for global use. This study aims to provide a cross-cultural translation, adaptation and validation of the CEDV based on Malay language.

Methods

CEDV scale was translated from the original English version to Malay. Content and face validity were examined before field-testing. The study comprised a cross sectional study using the Malay version of the CEDV (CEDV-M) scale conducted at a secondary school in Perlis, Malaysia and investigated 235 children aged 13 years old-16 years old using an online platform. The construct validity, internal consistency and stability of the tool were assessed.

Results

The CEDV-M scale's content and face validity both yielded a value exceeding 0.80. Furthermore, the tool demonstrated has good stability reliability, using the intra-class correlation value for all items ranging from 0.659 to 1.00. The exploratory factor analysis of the 36 items of the CEDV scale revealed possibilities of five or six factor domains. However, the five factor domains were most conceptually equivalent. Consequently, this study found that the CEDV-M scale is reliable with a total Cronbach's alpha of 0.87.

Conclusion

CEDV-M scale is a valid and reliable tool for measuring a child's experience of domestic violence. Future studies recommend confirmatory factor analysis and standard settings for scoring systems.

Child exposure to domestic violence, substance dependence and suicide resilience in child laborers

BACKGROUND

Child laborers are often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. Child laborers are one of the most vulnerable groups in domestic violence. Domestic violence severely affects the physical and mental health, and consequently affects substance dependence and resilience to suicide of these children. Accordingly, it is essential to examine domestic violence, substance dependence, and suicidal ideation in working children.

OBJECTIVES

the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between exposure to domestic violence and substance dependence and suicide resilience on the other among child laborers in Iran.

METHODS

This study employed cross-sectional research. 600 child laborers were selected via convenience and snow ball sampling from one rehabilitation and welfare center and three charity organization societies in the west of Iran, from January to August 2022. They completed questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 22 and with using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and ANOVA, independent t-test and the multiple linear regression model with a backward strategy.

RESULTS

Findings showed that exposure to domestic violence has a strong and direct correlation with substance dependence (r = 0.94, p < 0.001) and strong and indirect correlation with suicide resilience (r =- 0.91, p < 0.001). Also substance dependence has a strong and direct correlation with suicide resilience (r = -0.87, p < 0.001) in child laborers. Variables of substance dependence, suicide resilience, gender, guardian's disease status, living status and age can predict 76.51% of the variance in domestic violence in these children.

CONCLUSION

Child laborers experience a lot of domestic violence, which severely affects their suicide resilience and substance dependence in them. Therefore, there is an urgent need for systematic support programs with content (teaching self-care behaviors, stress management, avoiding tense and violent environments) in order to support of these children and reduce domestic violence against them and subsequently reduce substance improve abuse resilience to suicide in these children.

Investigating the Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Cigarette Smoking in University Students in Isfahan, Iran

Adverse childhood experiences include various types of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse as well as household dysfunction. These experiences are associated with health-damaging behaviors such as smoking and other adverse health consequences. The aim of the present study was to explain the current use of cigarettes based on exposure to adverse childhood experiences in university students in Isfahan, Iran. This cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of 450 university students selected on a randomized basis in Isfahan in 2020. Checklist of adverse childhood experiences, checklist of demographic information, and smoking-related variables were employed to collect data. Multivariate logistic regression was used to investigate the effect of exposure to adverse childhood experiences on the current status of cigarette smoking. The results showed that 20.2% of the total sample students were current smokers. 46.5% of students stated that they had at least one unfavorable experience and 25.1% of all students reported six or more unfavorable experiences. By controlling demographic variables, respondents with one to five (R = 3.5) as well as six or more adverse experiences (OR = 6.8) were more likely to be current smokers than respondents who had no adverse experiences. This was more likely in female students than male university students. The results suggest that exposure to adverse experiences may increase the risk of behaviors such as smoking in adulthood. Since smoking is known as a mechanism to deal with negative events, it is necessary to develop interventions and programs to effectively deal with adverse experiences at various community levels and policy to reduce risky behaviors such as smoking in adolescents and young people.