[Violence scale and severity index: a methodological proposal for measuring violence by the partner in Mexican women]

Relationship Between Different Types of Violence and Mental Health in High School Students From Northern Mexico

Different types of violence have been present in Mexico but there have been few studies that have analyzed their relationship with mental health in adolescents, especially in cities with high rates of social violence. It is important to compare different violence types and their relationship with mental health since not all relationships are the same. It appears that social violence has a stronger relationship with mental health, and for this reason it receives more attention, but other types of violence have a stronger relationship and do not receive as much attention. Chihuahua has been one of the most violent states in Mexico, and Juarez has been the most violent city in the world in 2009 and 2010. The purpose of the study is to compare the relationship of different types of violence (social, cyberbullying, partner violence, and child abuse and neglect) with mental health indicators (depression, anxiety, stress, self-esteem, and paranoid thoughts). There were 526 high school students, from the cities of Juarez (n = 282) and Chihuahua (n = 244). The mean age was 16.5 (SD = 1.4) years and 50.6% reported being males. The relationships among the variables were analyzed using Pearson's correlations and multiple linear regressions. Both cities that have experienced social violence like carjacking, kidnapping, and sexual assault, but they have very small or no relationships with mental health indicators. Other types of violence have stronger correlations. Our findings suggest that interventions should not focus only in preventing and dealing with social violence, but that other types of violence must also be addressed in adolescents.

Past Child Abuse and Neglect in Adults From Northern Mexico: Development of a Scale and Prevalence

Child abuse has been present in Mexico but there have been few studies that analyze its effects in adults. There are no Mexican validated scales that measure the relationship between abuse experienced in childhood and its effects into adulthood. The purpose of this study is to develop a past child abuse and neglect scale to measure these phenomena in adults and also to analyze the relationship the effects have with other psychological variables (e.g., anxiety, depression, self-esteem, partner-violence, personality, and fatalism). There were 763 participants from Juarez City, located on the northern border of Mexico. All participants were above the age of 18 years. The scale was developed, and its psychometric properties were analyzed. A first analysis consisted of analyzing the factor structure of the scale items with an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and then a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to corroborate the factor structure. The resulting factors were guilt, relationship with parents, strong physical abuse, sexual abuse, mild physical and verbal abuse, and basic care. The internal reliabilities for all factors in both analyses were between Cronbach's alpha values of .77 and .92. Correlations of these factors with psychological variables were analyzed, and several statistically significant correlations were found. The scale has a good factor structure that correctly reflects the indicators of child abuse and neglect with good internal reliability values. The analysis showed that the prevalence rates of child abuse and neglect in Juarez were higher than those reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in other locations worldwide. Actions by governments, universities, and civil associations should take place to reduce these rates, especially because of their long-term physical, emotional, and psychological consequences.

Intimate Partner Violence in Persons With Parkinson's Disease

Recent studies have reported that older adults with cognitive or physical disabilities are at risk to suffer intimate partner violence. This article investigates the intimate partner violence among caregivers and persons with Parkinson's disease (PD). We used qualitative methods to investigate whether the presence of violence was related to the type of couple relationship before the disease onset. We used a survey, in-depth interviews, and focus groups in 20 dyads of caregivers and patients. Twelve (60%) persons with PD and nine (45%) caregivers reported receiving violence. Considering their relationships previous to disease onset, we describe three typologies of violence in PD: (a) disease and history of violence, (b) disease as a buffer of violence, and (c) the burden of disease as an inductor of violence. Previous relationships and the couple's biographical trajectories influence the types of violence and its nature. This study is relevant as it considers time as a crucial factor in both the violence and suffering of PD and its caregiving.

Exposición a la violencia de pareja: comprensiones desde su naturalización en hombres y mujeres colombianos

Objetivo Evaluar si las representaciones sociales sobre violencia de pareja se relacionan con su naturalización. Material y Métodos Estudio exploratorio, mediante cuestionario, con participación de 731 hombres y mujeres en unión marital vigente. Resultados El 82% reporta haber sufrido violencia de su pareja. De este grupo el 51% se reconoce como víctima. El grupo que no reporta haber sufrido episodios violentos muestra una puntuación media inferior en la aceptación de los mitos en comparación con los grupos que reportan haber padecido violencia, se reconozcan o no como víctimas. Al relacionar el grado de acuerdo de los mitos con variables sociodemo-gráficas, se obtiene una correlación significativa con el nivel de educación (r=-0,283; p<0.000). Este puntaje tiene una correlación significativa con violencia psicológica (r=0.194; p<0.001) y física. Conclusiones Los resultados no son concluyentes puesto que no todos los mitos incluidos en esta investigación se relacionan directamente con procesos de naturalización de la violencia. No obstante, se constituye en un avance de conocimiento por las trazas de naturalización de la violencia encontradas respecto a los factores culturales, sociales y familiares que facilitan la reproducción de las relaciones asimétricas entre hombres y mujeres. Asimismo, el nivel de desacuerdo con los mitos se reconoce como factor protector.

Increased Cortisol Response and Low Quality of Life in Women Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence With Severe Anxiety and Depression

BACKGROUND

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most prevalent forms of violence against women globally and it is considered a public health problem. Because the experience of IPV is stressful and traumatic for victims, they are at high risk of developing alteration of the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis functioning as well as anxiety and depression symptoms. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life and changes in cortisol response to an acute stressor between women exposed to IPV and non-exposed women. Differences according to symptoms of anxiety and depression including the risk of suicide thoughts, were also analyzed.

METHOD

Our sample size consisted of 130 women (ages 18-68) grouped as follows: 71 women experiencing IPV and 59 women without history of IPV as control group. All participants completed a battery of questionnaires including IPV exposure, anxiety, and depression symptoms (Beck Inventories), as well as quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF). Salivary cortisol levels in response to a cognitive test with verbal, mathematical, and abstract reasoning were measured at four time points.

RESULTS

Women exposed to IPV, with severe anxiety and depression symptoms as well as suicide thoughts, exhibited heightened cortisol response after the cognitive test and reported lower quality of life compared to (i) women experiencing IPV with moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression, who showed a blunted response, and (ii) women without history of IPV with minimal to moderate symptoms, who showed a decreased cortisol profile. Social relationships dimension was in particular the most affected aspect of quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight the role of cortisol responses as a complementary biological marker to be associated with severe psychiatric disturbances in women exposed to IPV.

The mediating role of emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between family of origin violence and intimate partner violence

The effects of family of origin violence and intimate partner violence have been extensively documented; however, very few studies have examined the interaction with emotion regulation strategies. Thus, the objective of this research was to analyze whether different types of emotion regulation strategies, both adaptive and maladaptive, mediate the relationship between family of origin violence and intimate partner violence in the Mexican population. A total of 838 participants (45.9% men and 54.1% women) responded to instruments addressing family of origin violence, emotion regulation strategies, and intimate partner violence. The results revealed that both structural models were significant. For women, the model showed an adequate fit X2 (11, N = 838) = 22.75, p = .288, GFI = .95, AGFI = .91, NFI = .98, CFI = .97, RMSEA = .05. Likewise, we found similar indexes for men X2 (11, N = 838) = 28.20, p = .348, GFI = .97, AGFI = .93, NFI = .97, CFI = .95, RMSEA = .04. Specifically, the direct effects of adaptive strategies on intimate partner violence were statistically significant. Meanwhile, the direct effects of family of origin violence on maladaptive emotion regulation strategies were significant, as were the direct effects of maladaptive strategies on intimate partner violence. In turn, the indirect effects of family of-origin violence were significantly related to intimate partner violence via maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. In addition, the results clearly showed that men reported higher levels of aggression against women. Finally, regarding the selection of emotion regulation strategies, while women employed more adaptive emotion regulation, men showed a more definite tendency to use maladaptive emotion regulation.

Social determinants of domestic violence against suburban women in developing countries: a systematic review

OBJECTIVE

In addition to the many social, economic, cultural, security, and environmental problems in the metropolitan areas, suburbanization has led to the growth and spread of domestic violence against women, and is still increasing. Different social determinants can play a role in violence against suburban women, so this study was designed to investigate the social determinants of domestic violence in suburban women of developing countries.

METHODS

According to PRISMA guideline, the keywords, which were determined considering MESH, were searched in Google Scholar, MEDLINE, SID, Web of Science, Pubmed, Scopus and Science Direct with the 2009 to 2019 time limit. STROBE checklist was used for evaluating quantitative studies and JBI for qualitative studies. Finally 30 high quality studies were included.

RESULTS

The prevalence of general domestic violence among women of different ages was reported between 2.3-73.78% in the suburban regions of developing countries. The prevalence of physical, emotional and psychological violence was about 11.54-61.6% and 7.8-84.3%. The prevalence of sexual,economic and the verbal violence was about 0.8-58.8%, 13.7- 43.7% and 33.21-86.1%. The most common factors affecting violence against women were the structural factors of early marriage, the husband's addiction to alcohol and drugs.

CONCLUSION

General domestic violence and its various types are prevalent in different parts of the world and the factors affecting domestic violence such as age, marriage age, low literacy, husband addiction to alcohol and drugs are all things that can be prevented by special health planning in these areas to improve women's health and thus prevent violence against suburban women.

Association between dating violence and personality type in Mexican university students

Violence against women is a global health problem. Some pathological personality traits have been associated with violence. However, the relation between personality type and dating violence, especially in Mexican students, is not fully known. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the relation between personality type and dating violence in female university students of the State of Mexico, Mexico. Cross-sectional study conducted from February to September 2019 at a private university in the State of Mexico, Mexico. Female students of the bachelor’s degrees in the field of health sciences were included. Socio-demographic data, dating violence, and personality type were evaluated through questionnaires. Adjusted logistic regression models were applied, using STATA v.13. Students with an extroverted personality were 2.45 more likely to suffer dating violence (95% CI 1.29 to 4.63), adjusted for covariates. Those who reported childhood abuse (OR = 2.33, 95% CI 1.08 to 5.01) and whom their partners had a history of drug use (OR = 2.78, 95% CI 1.17 to 6.60) or who currently use drugs (OR = 4.85, 95% CI 0.92 to 25.7), were more likely to suffer dating violence, adjusted for covariates. Students with extroverted personality were more likely to experience dating violence, compared to those with introverted personality. The results show the need to produce further research to identify specific traits within extroverted female population which makes them vulnerable to dating violence.

Influence of violent contexts on facial reactions elicited by angry and neutral faces

This study focuses on determining whether violent contexts influence the perception of aggressiveness in faces analysing spontaneous corrugator supercilii activity. Participants viewed pictures of neutral and angry faces preceded by a contextual sentence describing either violent or neutral actions. They were instructed to judge each face according to whether it was aggressive or non-aggressive. Results show a higher level of perceived aggressiveness for neutral faces preceded by violent contexts, accompanied by longer reaction times, and a significant increase of corrugator activity. Angry faces preceded by neutral contexts were judged as less aggressive and elicited less corrugator activity. In conclusion, our results provide evidence that facial reactions and aggressiveness judgment for faces are context-dependent. With this work, we contribute to the view that contextual cues guide the face's emotional meaning, under top-down processing.

A Mathematical Model for Intimate Partner Violence

In the context of mathematical models applied to social sciences, we present and analyze a model based on differential equations for the intimate partner violence (IPV). Such a model describes the dynamics of a heterosexual romantic couple in which the man perpetrates violence against the woman. We focus on incorporating different key factors reported in the literature as causal or motivational factors to perpetrate IPV. Among the main factors included are the failures in self-regulation, the man’s need to control the woman, the social pressure on the woman to remain married, and empowerment programs. Another aspect that we include is periodic alcohol consumption for the man. The discussion of the model includes a stability analysis of its equilibrium points and the asymptotic behavior of its solutions. Also, the interpretation of results is presented in terms of IPV phenomenon. Finally, a brief review is given on different scales to quantify human behavioral traits and numerical simulations for some IPV scenarios.

Gestational surrogacy. Medical, psychological and legal aspects: 9 years of experience in Mexico

STUDY QUESTION

What are the medical, psychological and legal aspects involved in running a gestational surrogacy (GS) program in Mexico?

SUMMARY ANSWER

The correct and complete implementation of a medical protocol, adherence to legality and psychological screening are key elements for the success of a GS program.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

To our knowledge, this is the first reported GS case series in Mexico.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

This was a retrospective, descriptive study of 135 cycles performed between 2007 and 2016 at a fertility center in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHOD

We analyzed data from 135 GS cycles, 57 intended parents (IP) and 63 gestational carriers (GC).

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

GS in Mexico is only allowed in its altruistic mode. The legal requirements for the GCs are age 25–35 years and a complete medical examination that certifies no pregnancy during the last 365 days before embryo transfer and excludes infectious and chronic diseases. The IPs must be aged 25–40 years of age, have Mexican citizenship, and provide life insurance and medical expenses for the GCs. The GC recruitment was carried out by word of mouth. Of the 150+ women that requested information, 89 were identified as possible candidates. In total, 77 underwent the psychological evaluation protocol and nine were rejected owing to behavior and emotional alterations, giving 68 who began the medical selection protocol. Five women were not accepted as they were positive for human papilloma virus, or had experienced endometrial polyposis or recurrent pregnancy loss. Finally, 63 women entered the IVF protocol as GCs. The indications for GS were: hysterectomy 32%, implantation failure 21%, single fathers 14%, maternal medical condition 14%, recurrent pregnancy loss 11%, previous pregnancy complication 5% and uterine pathologies 3%. The mean age of intended mothers was 38.8 years. The average number of embryos transferred per cycle was 1.9, with 22.2% of cycles resulting in pregnancies. The live-birth rate per IP was 33.3%, 18.5% of cycles resulted in live births, with 24% of live births being twins.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

Owing to the retrospective nature of this study conclusions must be drawn accordingly.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

As the first article addressing GS in Latin America, it may serve as a reference for future practice and publications. The results demonstrate the importance of having an assisted reproduction program in the form of GS.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS

There was no external funding used and there are no conflicts to report.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Domestic Violence Against Women by Their Husbands in Iran

OBJECTIVE

Domestic violence against women is a health problem. Research on domestic violence in order to clarify the relationship between the different forms of violence and health outcomes is needed. This study aimed to determine the frequency and risk factors of domestic violence in women. It also assessed the association between risk factors and psychological, physical, and sexual violence against women by their intimate partners.

MATERIALS & METHODS

This cross-sectional study was done on married women 16-80 years of age living in jahrom south of Iran between August 2013 and December 2014. This research was implemented through questionnaires including the demographic characteristic. The form of partner violence including emotional abuse, physical violence and sexual violence was assessed with a validated questionnaire. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to measure the association between violence and factors.

RESULTS

The prevalence of physical, sexual and emotional domestic violence was respectively 16.4%, 18.6% and 44.4%.and was associated with Age (p=0.002), Husband's Age (p=0.001), Length of marriage (p=0.002), Woman's low educational level women's education (OR=4.67 95%.CI=1.97-11.07), husband's low education (OR=9.22 95%. CI=0.69-12.16), were the most important risk factors for violence.

CONCLUSION

Prevalence of physical, emotional or sexual violence was very high. Men's violence against women in intimate relationships is commonly occurring in Iran. Considering the factors contributing to violence against women, raising the level of education of men and women is one of the ways to prevent violence.

Prevalence and severity of intimate partner violence in women living in eight indigenous regions of Mexico

The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence and severity of intimate partner violence (IPV) in eight indigenous regions of Mexico, as well as the socioeconomic and demographic variables that are associated with this phenomenon. A cross-sectional study was conducted in indigenous regions that have a greater availability of government medical services than other indigenous regions. Interviews were conducted with female patients (n = 3287) seeking medical care in either of the two public health institutions in these regions. The severity of intimate partner violence (SIPV) during the previous 12 months was measured using a 33-item scale. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the factors associated with SIPV. Intimate partner violence prevalence was 25.5% (95%CI 24.93-25.26). Female partner variables such as personal history of child abuse (ORA 3.48; 95%CI 2.48-4.89) and work outside the home (ORA 1.74; 95%CI 1.22-2.49) and male partner variables such as unemployment (ORA 2.31; 95%CI 1.34-3.97) and a high frequency of alcohol use (ORA 13.35; 95%CI 7.02-25.39) were the main predictors for IPV. We found a three-fold higher risk of IPV for women living in the Los Altos de Chiapas region (ORA 3.01; 95%CI 1.88-4.79) compared with women in the Mayan region (reference category). Such results should aid decision makers in the development of extended public policies and interventions to address violence against women in the indigenous populations of Mexico.

Factors associated with severity of intimate partner abuse in Mexico: results of the first National Survey of Violence Against Women

OBJECTIVE

To identify factors associated with the severity of intimate partner abuse (IPA) in Mexico.

METHODS

Data were gathered from the National Survey of Violence Against Women (November 2002-November 2003), a nationwide study in which 18,902 women over the age of 14 participated. Subjects were recipients of national public health care services. The severity of IPA was measured using a 27-item scale. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to explore significant factors associated with partner violence.

RESULTS

One in four participants reported experiencing IPA. This model showed that younger and less educated women had a higher risk of IPA. Working out of the home (OR [odds ratio] 1.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99-1.72), two or more children in the household (OR 1.44, CI 1.18-1.77), alcohol consumption (OR 2.51, CI 1.63-3.90) and history of childhood abuse (OR 3.7, CI 3.03-4.52) increased the possibility of severe violence. The most important predictor of severe IPA was the partner's alcohol consumption (daily or almost daily, OR 14.7, 95% CI 13.25-16.46).

CONCLUSIONS

Awareness about the risk factors associated with IPA will help identify populations at greater risk of severe injury and could orient the health sector to direct actions toward this vulnerable population.