Forgotten Violence: Cultural and Social Backgrounds of Sibling abuse (Case Study of High School Students in Districts One and Six of Mashhad)
Document Type : Qualitative Research
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Abstract
Abstract
In recent decades, much research has been conducted in the context of domestic violence, especially violence against women and children; But in related to another form of domestic violence, or sibling abuse, not only has little attention been paid by researchers, but most parents also ignore their children's violent behavior toward each other as a common childish behavior. However, most of these cases have profound and destructive effects on children's social development and cognition, and consequently increase the likelihood of committing criminal behaviors. Among these, social and cultural factors are a hidden phenomenon that determines the shape of individual relationships in families. The present study describes the prevalence of sibling abuse with the aim of examining the economic, cultural and social contexts of student families.
The survey study was conducted among 600 high school students in districts one and six of Mashhad using a researcher-made questionnaire in two sections: self-reported victimization and delinquency with Cronbach's alpha 0.918, and was conducted in the academic year 2020-2021. Data analysis shows that the cultural and social characteristics of families such as inadequate parental education, poverty and unemployment, affect the prevalence of sibling violence, and violence among students with lower levels of family background was more prevalent in compare to others.
This study shows that social factors and cultural level within families affect the level of violence between children; therefore, if a society can strengthen the normative and cultural components of families through education and the media, it can improve the health of families. The Iranian legislature has taken an important step to combat this type of behavioral violence by passing the Child and Adolescent Protection Act 2020.
Keywords: Domestic Violence, Brother-Sister Abuse, Victim Self-Report, Crime Self-Report, Mashhad High School Students
In recent decades, much research has been conducted in the context of domestic violence, especially violence against women and children; But in related to another form of domestic violence, or sibling abuse, not only has little attention been paid by researchers, but most parents also ignore their children's violent behavior toward each other as a common childish behavior. However, most of these cases have profound and destructive effects on children's social development and cognition, and consequently increase the likelihood of committing criminal behaviors. Among these, social and cultural factors are a hidden phenomenon that determines the shape of individual relationships in families. The present study describes the prevalence of sibling abuse with the aim of examining the economic, cultural and social contexts of student families.
The survey study was conducted among 600 high school students in districts one and six of Mashhad using a researcher-made questionnaire in two sections: self-reported victimization and delinquency with Cronbach's alpha 0.918, and was conducted in the academic year 2020-2021. Data analysis shows that the cultural and social characteristics of families such as inadequate parental education, poverty and unemployment, affect the prevalence of sibling violence, and violence among students with lower levels of family background was more prevalent in compare to others.
This study shows that social factors and cultural level within families affect the level of violence between children; therefore, if a society can strengthen the normative and cultural components of families through education and the media, it can improve the health of families. The Iranian legislature has taken an important step to combat this type of behavioral violence by passing the Child and Adolescent Protection Act 2020.
Keywords: Domestic Violence, Brother-Sister Abuse, Victim Self-Report, Crime Self-Report, Mashhad High School Students
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