Prevalence of family violence and mental health and their relation to peer victimization: A representative study of adolescent students in Southwestern Uganda

Abstract

Background: Despite global eଏorts to end violence against children in all settings, reports reveal that violence against children is still highly prevalent, especially in low-and middle-income countries. Violence in childhood is associated with a host of negative outcomes, and exposure in one setting can easily spill over to other contexts. For instance, exposure to family violence was not only related to mental health problems but also seems to be a risk factor for peer victimization.Objectives: The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of maltreatment within the family and adolescents' mental health problems and their relation to peer victimization. We also aimed to gain new insights into the perceptions of adolescents concerning maltreatment within their families. Methods: Data were collected from April to November 2017 in a representative sample of 702 students from 12 public secondary schools in Southwestern Uganda who responded to self-administered questionnaires. Results: Overall, 95% of the students experienced at least one type of family violence in the past month. Students (81.3%) had endorsed some level of acceptance of violent discipline as a valid strategy in response to any misbehavior. Maltreatment within the family was related to peer victimization (β = .47) and this relation was mediated by mental health problems (0.002, 95%-CI: 0.001-0.004). Conclusions: The results indicated a high prevalence of maltreatment within Ugandan families that was associated with peer victimization. This underscores the need to implement interventions aiming to reduce maltreatment and violence in order to protect children from potentially negative consequences.

Family and School Context: Effects on the Mental Health of Brazilian Students

“…Adolescents can feel frightened and alone and can develop a negative image of themselves and others, and they may avoid approaching other people because they fear being rejected [10,11]. Parental absence can foster feelings of anguish, frustration, and loneliness [37]. Additionally, adolescents who experience unstructured families, disagreements, breakups and marital violence between parents, and familial violence are at a greater risk of mental disorders [10,36].…”

“…Moreover, once adolescents are physically assaulted, they may believe that violence is a valid method of solving problems. In this way, family violence can result in the reproduction of violence in other spaces [9,37]. Other problems generated by family violence are the loss of trust in caregivers and affective distance.…”

“…Other problems generated by family violence are the loss of trust in caregivers and affective distance. A teenager assaulted at home may not only become violent outside the home but may also be vulnerable to other types of assault [37].…”

The phenomenon of “victimization” in modern Russian and foreign studies

“…Что касается проблематики исследований, то можно сделать следующие выводы. Сегодня уделяется много внимания вопросам взаимосвязи виктимизации школьников и буллинга (Baiden & Tadeo, 2019), виктимизации детей и подростков и особенностей семейного воспитания и виктимности родителей (Barón et al, 2018;Doty et al, 2018;Ssenyonga et al, 2019), интернет-компьютерных технологий и виктимизации (положительное и отрицательное влияние) (Correia, 2019;Vakhitova et al, 2019), виктимизации и аддикции и др.…”

Child maltreatment, cognitive functions and the mediating role of mental health problems among maltreated children and adolescents in Uganda

“…in Tanzania [4,5] and Kenya [6]. Similarly, studies in Uganda have reported that children and adolescents experienced violence very frequently [7][8][9]. For example, physical and emotional violence has been experienced by 98% of children, sexual violence by 75.8% and economic violence by 74.4% [8].…”