Self-mutilation in adolescents: social aspects, personality, anxiety and depression and another evaluation of children's exposure to domestic violence in Brazil and Spain: scale and narrative analysis

Abstract

Currently there is a strong interest in the study of self-harm behavior in adolescents. Self-directed violence is one of the three kinds of violence recognized by WHO as a public health problem. The self-violence is different from suicidal one, the nature and epidemiology in not cleary differentiated. The main aim is to study the differential construction of the relational and meanings world between adolescents who self-harm themselves. The sample will be composed by 200 adolescent (both genders) assessed in comunnitary and scholars settings, specifically Brazilian students included in three age-ranges: pre-adolescents (10-12 years old); adolescents (12-18 years old); and youth (12-20 years old). The sample will be equilibrated, and it will be separated in two groups, 100 who self-harm themselves) and 100 control who do not) have this behavior. The same procedures will be followed in Spain in sample of 30 adolescents who practice self injury and 30 controls. The instruments will be: a) measures of depression and anxiety; b) lexical scales of personality traits; c) coping strategies scales; d) social skills scale; f) parental styles scales. (BDI II, BAI, EPQ-J or NEO -FFI-R). It will be complemented with qualitative studies of biographical and fictional stories, and with the use of the repertory grid technique. Abstract of another project: People who observe and experience conflicts or violence are considered too as victims with independence that they could be directly or not affected by the violence. So, children exposed to domestic violence must be considered victims too. This problems must be considered as a public health problematic due its high prevalence. There are not instruments that get an efficient evaluation of symptomatology and problematic of the children children exposed to domestic violence. The continuous exposure to violence is considered as risk factor. There are not clear dates linked with co-occurrence of different kinds of children abuse. It is possible that children who observed intimate partner violence will be to direct victims of others kind of violence. Co-occurrence is a factor found in several studies, but it is not a general rule. It's necessary to differentiate kinds of violence that affect children. An early exposure to violence during infancy increases the probability to generate violent behavior when the children became adult. An instrument that does an evaluation of risk and prevalence of different kinds of violence is necessary. There are instrument of this type at the EE.UU, especially Children Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale, it is not adapted to Spanish population. The adaptation in Brazil is being developed. The scale has 42 items that contemplate different kinds of violence, in individuals from 10 to 16 years old. It is composed by three parts: a) assessing kinds of violence (10 items), b) assessing intensity of exposure (23 items); c) sociodemographic information (9 items). This scale will be validate using other tests as the Conflict Tactic Scale (for the parents), the violence phrases inventory and ASEBA scales (for children). They will be complemented with an narrative analysis of conflict experiences (real and fictional) of the children. In Brazil the study will be develop with communitarian and clinic samples. In Spain, only with communitarian samples. (AU)