Physical Violence Against Children and Adolescents in Porto: A 5-Year Study

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to analyze the prevalence of physical violence against children and adolescents (PVCA) in a 5-year period in the city of Porto, Portugal. All forensic reports between 2009 and 2013 in the clinical services of the North Branch of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and forensic sciences were analyzed. Victims were classified according to sex, age, relationship with perpetrator, traumatic consequences of the event, and year of occurrence. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (Version 22.0). Continuous variables were described when appropriated frequencies were displayed. The association between variables was evaluated using chi-square, Fisher's exact test, or Kruskal-Wallis test, when appropriate and a logistic regression was performed. The margin of error for the statistical tests was 5.0%. A total of 2,148 occurrences were evaluated. Most subjects were male, and mean victim age was 13 years. The single most frequent perpetrator was an unknown individual, but most offenders were known to the victim. The majority site of injury was the face. The larger number of complaints of aggression maintained a similar frequency over the 5 years analyzed. A physical examination to confirm the reasons between the complaint and the type of aggression was performed and shown a high relationship. Adolescents were more susceptible to violence than younger children were. The most affected region was the face.

Oral health professional intervention and child physical abuse—European legal approach

“…Public places also emerge as settings for violent incidents, aligning with the study by Vidal et al [ 16 ], particularly among individuals aged 15 years and older (45.5%).…”

“…Concerning the victim’s age, the average (9.63 ± 3.12) years was lower than a similar Portuguese study (13.37 ± 3.91) years [ 16 ]. In the present study, the victims were mainly under 12 years old, seeking interventive oral healthcare, without previous notification, compared with the age group 15–17 years old of the population evaluated in medicolegal issues after the notification procedure [ 16 ].…”

“…The incidence of violence mainly occurs in men, following the literature [ 16 , 18 ], although there is no statistically significant correlation between gender and the pattern of injuries, as suggested in the study by Cairns et al [ 8 ].…”

“…According to age range, two groups were considered in a bimodal distribution: less than or equal to 12 years old (G1) and 13 years and older (G2) [ 16 ].…”

Injury‐Related Healthcare Use and Risk of Filicide Victimization: A Population‐Based Case–Control Study

“…Recent research supports that notion, which appears to hold true regardless of age; playground accidents in preschoolers have been found to be more common in males , as have motor vehicle accidents with victims up to 17 years of age and emergency admissions due to injuries in adolescents . It may also be the case that male children, to a greater extent than their female counterparts, become victims of physical abuse—a supposition which is also supported by the literature .…”