Carme Montserrat Boada

The Use of Software to Improve Child Maltreatment Detection and Assessment

This chapter presents the development process of software to aid in the identification of situations where there is risk of abuse against children or adolescents, as well as its adaptation to the Brazilian context. The authors initially contextualize maltreatment in both contexts where the tool is being implemented, Spain and Brazil. Epidemiological data, the most frequent typologies, and underreporting is addressed. Afterwards, an overview concerning the identification of cases of abuse is provided using observations and indicators, while the need for an instrument to assess maltreatment using such observations and indicators is discussed. The following section explores different technologies used in other countries and contexts to identify maltreatment. Then, they explain how the software development process originally took place, its stages, validation process, and implementation in Spain. The translation and validation process for the Brazilian context is presented, addressing legal and contextual differences in both scenarios. The instrument is currently being validated in Brazil and this process is clarified, as well. Finally, the potential implications of the use of this tool are discussed in regard to public policies, professional practices, and academic research.

Estressores psicossociais, senso de comunidade e bem-estar subjetivo em crianças e adolescentes de zonas urbanas e rurais do Nordeste do Brasil = Psychosocial stressors, sense of community, and subjective wellbeing in children and adolescents in urban and rural areas in Northeast Brazil = Estresores psicosociales, sentido de comunidad y bienestar subjetivo en niños y adolescentes de zonas urbanas y rurales del Nordeste de Brasil

The studys overall objective was to investigate the relationship between psychosocial stressors, sense of community, and subjective wellbeing in urban and rural schoolchildren in Northeast Brazil, focusing on differences according to territorial context. The sample consisted of 757 participants, 495 from urban schools and 262 from rural schools, enrolled in the 6th and 7th grades (9 to 18 years of age) in 21 municipal and state public schools, of which 13 urban and 8 rural, in 7 municipalities (counties) in Ceará State, Brazil. The study instruments were inventory of stressful events, scale of life satisfaction for students, index of sense of community, and satisfaction indices by life domains (family, material goods, relations, neighborhood/zone, health, time, school, and personal). The results indicate that socioeconomically underprivileged public schoolchildren from urban areas are more exposed to daily stress and score lower on satisfaction in specific domains of life and on sense of community. This latter is an important indicator for evaluating wellbeing in this young population.O objetivo geral do estudo e investigar a relacao existente entre eventos estressores cotidianos, senso de comunidade e bem-estar subjetivo em alunos de escolas urbanas e rurais do Nordeste do Brasil, focando nas diferencas por contexto territorial. A amostra esta formada por 757 participantes, 495 alunos de escolas urbanas e 262 de escolas rurais, dos 6o e 7o anos (9 a 18 anos) de 21 escolas publicas municipais e estaduais, 13 urbanas e 8 rurais, de 7 municipios do Ceara, Brasil. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: inventario de eventos estressores, escala de satisfacao com a vida para estudantes, indice de senso de comunidade e oito indices de satisfacao por âmbitos da vida (familia, bens materiais, relacoes, bairro/zona, saude, tempo, escola, pessoal). Os resultados indicam que os alunos das escolas publicas (desfavorecidos socioeconomicamente) de contextos urbanos estao mais expostos ao estresse cotidiano, pontuam mais baixo em satisfacao com âmbitos especificos da vida e senso de comunidade, sendo este ultimo um indicador importante na avaliacao do bem-estar da populacao estudada.