Risk and protective factors related to domestic violence against Brazilian adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To describe the factors associated with domestic violence against Brazilian adolescents. Methodology: Descriptive analysis of the variables and calculation of the prevalence of intrafamily violence reported by the students was performed, followed by multinomial regression with calculation of the adjusted odds ratio to analyze the association between the variables and the outcome investigated. Results: Black skin color (ORa = 1.9; 95%CI 1.4 – 2.7) and brown (ORa = 1.4; 95%CI 1.0 – 1.9), insomnia (ORa = 1.8; 95%CI 1.4 – 2.4), bullying (ORa = 2.5; 95%CI 1.7 – 3.7) and alcohol consumption (ORa = 1.5; 95%CI 1.1 – 1.9) increased the chances of adolescents suffering an episode of intrafamily violence. Bullying (ORa = 3.9; 95%CI 2.8 – 5.3) and alcohol consumption (ORa = 2.2; 95%CI 1.7 – 2.7) contributed up to 4 times more not to suffer more than one episode of domestic violence. Habits such as eating with family (ORa = 0.7; 95%CI 0.5 – 1.0) and having parents who understand their problems (ORa = 0.6; 95%CI 0.5 – 0,7) proved to be protective factors for intrafamily violence. Conclusion: Intrafamily violence against adolescents is related to family interactions, psychoactive substance use and violence in the school environment. Thus, it reveals the importance of the participation of parents and guardians in the prevention of violence and risk behaviors in the lives of Brazilian adolescents.