NCJ Number
225024
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 32 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2008 Pages: 994-1002
Date Published
October 2008
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined the rates of exposure to family violence among students in a non-Western society and the psychological effects of their exposure.
Abstract
Results of the study revealed that the occurrences of family violence in a non-Western society (among Sri Lankan families) were within the range of violence found among families in Western societies, as well as in other non-Western societies. Between 16 and 18 percent of the participants indicated that they had witnessed at least one act of interparental psychological aggression, and between 2 and 16 percent indicated that they had witnessed at least one act of interparental physical violence before the age of 18; between 11 and 84 percent of the participants had experienced at least one act of parental psychological aggression and between 2 and 22 percent had experienced at least one act of parental physical violence during childhood. The results also reveal that family violence in this society correlates significantly with several sociodemographic characteristics (father’s and mother’s age, father’s level of education, number of siblings, family functioning, and environment) that can be considered risk factors for this problem. The more the participants were exposed to different patterns of family violence, the greater their psychological symptoms of dissociation, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances. Finally, the more the participants perceived their families as rejecting and dysfunctional, the more frequently they experienced parental violence, the more frequently they reported that they had witnessed interparental violence, and the higher their levels of anxiety, depression, and dissociation. Data were collected by surveying 476 medical students in Sri Lanka. Tables, references