Enrique Gracia

Acceptability of domestic violence against women in the European Union: a multilevel analysis

Study objective: The acceptability of domestic violence against women (DVAW) plays an important part in shaping the social environment in which the victims are embedded, which in turn may contribute either to perpetuate or to reduce the levels of DVAW in our societies. This study analyses correlates of the acceptability of DVAW in the European Union (EU). Design: Three level ordinal logistic regression of 13 457 people nested within 212 localities (cities), nested within 15 countries of the EU. Sampling is multistage with random probability. All interviews were face to face in people’s homes. The outcome variable was acceptability of DVAW. Multiple correlates at the individual, locality, and country level were analysed. Setting: European Union, 1999. Participants: National data were used of residents 15 years old and above of all member states in 1999 (n = 13 457). Average response rate was 47%, although it varied across countries (23%–73%). Main results: Higher levels of acceptability were reported by those who perceived DVAW as less severe and less frequent. Acceptability is higher among men who know a perpetrator and lower among men who know a victim. Victim blaming attitude is associated with higher levels of acceptability. In countries with higher gender empowerment measure the difference in acceptability among those who blame and those who do not blame the victim is greater. Conclusions: There are still widespread attitudes in the EU such as victim blaming that condone DVAW, contributing to a climate of social acceptability of DVAW. Further efforts to reduce the acceptability of DVAW are still needed.

Social isolation from communities and child maltreatment: a cross-cultural comparison

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to determine: (1) the differences between Spanish and Colombian cultures in relation to community social support variables, and (2) the relationships between community social support variables and child maltreatment in both cultures. METHOD The study was based on 670 nonabusive families and 166 abusive families. The parents were asked to complete the Community Social Support Questionnaire. This instrument measures community social support in terms of Community Integration and Satisfaction, membership in voluntary organizations and community participation, and use of Community Resources of Social Support. RESULTS Differences between both cultures were found in the pattern of community social support for the nonabusive groups. However, the relationships between community social support and child maltreatment were similar cross-culturally. Our results indicate that in both cultures abusive parents show lower levels of community integration, participation in community social activities and use of formal and informal organizations than the parents that provide adequate care. CONCLUSIONS The results largely support the literature that has repeatedly reported the link between social isolation and child maltreatment and they confirm this relation within two cultural contexts, Colombian and Spanish, quite different from the Anglo-Saxon context, where most of the previous studies have been carried out.

Perceived Neighborhood Social Disorder and Attitudes Toward Reporting Domestic Violence Against Women

This study aims to explore the relationship between perceived neighborhood social disorder and attitudes toward reporting domestic violence against women. Data from a national representative sample (N = 14,994) of Spaniards 18 years old and older were used. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that perceived neighborhood social disorder is negatively associated with attitudes toward reporting domestic violence against women. These results take into account the potential confounding effects of gender, age, socioeconomic status, perceived frequency of domestic violence against women, and size of city on reporting attitudes. Findings support the idea that to reduce and prevent domestic violence against women, it is also important to address those conditions leading to mistrust between people and diminished social control such as concentrated disadvantage and disorder.

¿Qué estilo de socialización parental es el idóneo en España? Un estudio con niños y adolescentes de 10 a 14 años

Resumen El objetivo de esta investigación fue analizar qué estilo de socialización parental es idóneo en España midiendo el ajuste psicosocial de los hijos. Una muestra con 948 niños y adolescentes de 10 a 14 años (52% mujeres) indicaron las prácticas de socialización de sus padres. Las familias se clasificaron en una de las cuatro tipologías clásicas (autorizativa, autoritaria, indulgente o negligente) a partir de las respuestas de los hijos al PARQ/C (Rohner, 1990). Se usaron como criterios las cinco dimensiones del autoconcepto medidos por el AF5 (García y Musitu, 1999), seis indicadores de ajuste psicológico medidos por el PAQ (Rohner, 1990), tres indicadores de competencia personal y tres de problemas conductuales (Lamborn et al., 1991). Los estilos familiares autorizativo e indulgente se correspondieron generalmente con mejores puntuaciones en los criterios que los autoritarios y negligentes. Los resultados indicaron que el estilo familiar idóneo en España es el indulgente, ya que las puntuaciones de los hijos de familias indulgentes siempre fueron equivalentes, o incluso mejores, que los de las familias autorizativas.

Public Responses to Intimate Partner Violence Against Women: The Influence of Perceived Severity and Personal Responsibility

This paper explored public willingness to act when exposed to cases of intimate partner violence against women, by analyzing the influence of perceived severity and personal responsibility on two types of responses: mediating and reporting to the police. Results (N = 419) yielded main effects of personal responsibility for both types of responses. No main effects of perceived severity were found. A significant interaction between perceived severity and personal responsibility was found only for reporting responses. Results are discussed in light of the helping behavior research tradition. Implications for public education and advocacy programs are also considered.

Police Involvement in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women The Influence of Perceived Severity and Personal Responsibility

The influence of perceived severity and sense of personal responsibility of police officers on their level of involvement in cases of intimate partner violence against women is analyzed. Three levels of police involvement are considered: low, medium, and high. The sample consists of 143 Spanish police officers. A 2 × 2 × 3 factorial design is conducted to test hypotheses. Effects of perceived severity and personal responsibility are found only at the highest level of police involvement. For low and medium levels of involvement, no differences in perceived severity and personal responsibility of police officers are found.

Internet Use and Self-Rated Health Among Older People: A National Survey

Background Older people are among the segments of the population for which the digital divide is most persistent and are considered to be at risk of losing out on the potential benefits that the information society can provide to their quality of life. Little attention has been paid, however, to relationships between Internet use and actual indicators of health among older people. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the association between Internet use and self-rated health among older people and determine whether this association holds independently of socioeconomic position. Methods Data were from a survey about the digital divide and quality of life among older people in Spain that was conducted in 2008. The final sample consisted of 709 individuals and was representative of the Spanish adult population in terms of Internet use and sex across two age groups (55-64 and 65-74 years). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relationship between Internet use and self-rated health. Results Results initially showed a significant relationship between Internet use and poor self-rated health (Model 1, OR = 0.32, 95% CI 0.16-0.67, P = .002), suggesting that Internet users have better self-rated health than nonusers. This effect remained significant when other sociodemographic variables were entered into the equation (Model 2, OR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.18-0.83, P = .01; Model 3, OR = 0.41, 95% CI 0.19-0.87, P = .02). However, the significant relationship between Internet use and self-rated health disappeared once social class was considered (Model 4, OR = 0.61, 95% CI 0.27-1.37, P = .23). Conclusions This study suggests that the use of the Internet is not a significant determinant of health among older people once the socioeconomic position of individuals is taken into account.

Police Attitudes Toward Policing Partner Violence Against Women: Do They Correspond to Different Psychosocial Profiles?

This study analyzed whether police attitudes toward policing partner violence against women corresponded with different psychosocial profiles. Two attitudes toward policing partner violence were considered—one reflecting a general preference for a conditional law enforcement (depending on the willingness of the victim to press charges against the offender) and the other reflecting a general preference for unconditional law enforcement (regardless of the victim’s willingness to press charges against the offender). Results from a sample of 378 police officers showed that those police officers who expressed a general preference for unconditional law enforcement scored higher in other-oriented empathy, were less sexist, tended to perceive the same incidents of partner violence as more serious, and felt more personally responsible, as compared to the group of police officers who expressed a preference for a conditional law enforcement approach. Implications for police education are considered.

Correlates of Victim-Blaming Attitudes Regarding Partner Violence Against Women Among the Spanish General Population

This article analyzes correlates of victim-blaming attitudes regarding partner violence against women (PVAW) among the Spanish general population (N = 1,006). Results showed that victim-blaming attitudes were more common among respondents who were older, less educated, and who placed themselves at the bottom of the social scale. Furthermore, the odds of expressing victim-blaming attitudes were higher among respondents who thought that PVAW was common in society, considered it more acceptable, and knew women victims of partner violence in their circle of friends and family. Implications for public education are discussed.

Beliefs in the necessity of corporal punishment of children and public perceptions of child physical abuse as a social problem.

Research on corporal punishment of children has examined issues such as its prevalence (Daro, 1999; Durrant, 1999; Roberts, 2000; Straus & Mathur, 1996; Straus & Stewart, 1999), relation with negative outcomes (Friedman & Schonberg, 1996; Gershoff, 2002a; Straus, 2000a), role as a risk factor for physical abuse (Gil, 1970; Straus & Stewart, 1999; Whipple & Richey, 1997), or influence on perceptions and the reporting of maltreatment (Ashton, 2001; Tirosh, Shechter, Cohen, & Jaffe, 2003), and has generated intense debates about the appropriateness of corporal punishment as a mode of discipline (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1998; Baumrind, Larzelere, & Cowan, 2002; Gershoff, 2002b; Larzelere, 1996; Larzelere, Sather, Schneider, Larson, & Pike, 1998; Rosemond, 2004; Straus, 2000a, 2000b, 2004). To our knowledge, however, no study has examined whether beliefs concerning the necessity of corporal punishment for child rearing are related to public perceptions of the extent of child maltreatment as a social problem in society. Perceptions of what constitutes child maltreatment are related to public beliefs of what is tolerable in the way parents treat their children. Because individuals hold different views of what is tolerable in the way parents treat their children, it is likely that the perception of the pervasiveness of child maltreatment in society will vary accordingly. From this viewpoint, beliefs in the necessity of corporal punishment (hitting, spanking, or slapping) as a child rearing practice might be related to public perceptions of the extent of child physical abuse as a social problem. The relationship between beliefs in the necessity of corporal punishment and public perceptions of the extent of child abuse as a social problem is an issue that deserves examination because it may add relevant knowledge to orient public education and prevention initiatives. The perception of the extent of a social problem in society may influence people’s concern, sense of responsibility, and positive attitudes to intervene and to exercise informal social control (Gracia & Herrero,