Neighborhood Social Disorder and Attitudes Toward Partner Violence Against Women: Evidence from Latin-American Immigrants in Spain

This study analyzes the relationship between neighborhood social disorder, and attitudes toward partner vio- lence against women among immigrants. To test hypotheses, a sample of Latin-American immigrants living in Spain was used. Relationships between perceived neighborhood disorder and the following sets of attitudes toward partner violence against women were explored: perceived severity of incidents, the acceptability of partner violence, and victim-blaming attitudes. Residents perceiving high levels of neighborhood social disorder were more exposed to incidents of partner vio- lence against women, as they reported knowing more victims. Results showed that high levels of perceived neighb…

Perceived Frequency of Domestic Violence against Women and Neighbourhood Social Disorder

Regression analyses from a nationally representative sample of 10,235 adult Spaniards, provided in 1995 from the Spanish Demands of Security and Victimization Survey, showed a small and positive relationship between high neighbourhood social disorder and perceived frequency of domestic violence against women in Spanish families, after controlling for sociodemographic variables and size of city. Among sociodemographic variables, sex had the strongest association with neighbourhood social disorder, being more than twice as large as neighbourhood social disorder.

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…

The relationships of adolescent school‐related deviant behaviour and victimization with psychological distress: Testing a general model of the mediational role of parents and teachers across groups of gender and age

Deviant behaviour and victimization at school have been consistently related to poor psychological adjustment in adolescents. This research explores the mediating role that parents and teachers have in adolescent psychological distress in 973 Spanish students aged 11-16 years old. Structural equation analyses results showed that adolescent deviant behaviour and victimization were positively related to psychological distress as seen by the total effects. However, while victimization was directly related to psychological distress, the association of deviant behaviour and psychological distress was mediated by adolescent-parent communication and adolescent-teacher relationships. Multigroup ana…

Percepciones y Actitudes hacia la Violencia de Pareja contra la Mujer en Inmigrantes Latinoamericanos en España

Este trabajo analiza, en primer lugar, las percepciones y actitudes hacia la violencia de pareja contra la mujer de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos y de la población española y, en segundo lugar, explora los correlatos de las actitudes hacia la denuncia de casos de violencia de pareja contra la mujer en una muestra de inmigrantes latinoamericanos. Para ello, se utilizan 3 fuentes de datos que incorporan dos muestras representativas de la población española y un muestra de inmigrantes latinoamericanos. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas entre españoles e inmigrantes en las percepciones y actitudes hacia la violencia de pareja contra la mujer. Los análisis también muestran qu…

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

THE COMMUNITY AS A SOURCE OF SOCIAL SUPPORT: EVALUATION AND IMPLICATIONS AT THE INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY LEVELS

En este trabajo se presentan tres estudios. El estudio 1 se llevó a cabo con el objetivo de explorar las propiedades psicométricas y estructura factorial del cuestionario de apoyo comunitario percibido. El estudio 2 examina la relación del apoyo comunitario con diversos indicadores del ajuste psicológico. El estudio 3 se realizó para comprobar si existen diferencias en la percepción de apoyo comunitario entre participantes de áreas residenciales normales y de alto riesgo. Los resultados confirman que la percepción de apoyo comunitario está relacionada positivamente con en el ajuste psicológico, así como que las condiciones de la comunidad de residencia influyen en la percepción de apoyo com…

PERSONAL AND SITUATIONAL DETERMINANTS OF RELATIONSHIP-SPECIFIC PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL SUPPORT

This study explores personal (self-esteem, perceived stress, and depressive mood) and situational (undesirable life events) variables as determinants of relationship-specific perceptions of social support. Structural equation analyses from two-wave panel data (N = 583) of adult participants from a community-based urban sample revealed that, after controlling for initial levels of perceived social support, psychological characteristics (high levels of stress and depression, and low levels of self-esteem) and situational determinants (number of undesirable life events) were both negatively related to perceived social support from specific significant relationships over time. Multigroup analys…

Perceived neighborhood social disorder and residents' attitudes toward reporting child physical abuse.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the relationship between perceived neighborhood social disorder and attitudes toward reporting child physical abuse. METHOD: Data from a national probabilistic sample (N=9,759) were used. Responses about the perception of neighborhood social disorder, perceived frequency of child physical abuse in Spanish families, and willingness to report a case of child physical abuse to the police were collected through face-to-face interviews in respondents' homes. RESULTS: Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that perceived neighborhood social disorder was negatively related to residents' attitudes toward reporting child physical abuse. These results …

Covariates of Subjective well-being among Latin American immigrants in Spain: the role of social integration in the community

The aim of this study is to test the influence that social integration in the community might have on subjective well-being (SWB) beyond the influence of sociodemographic characteristics, self-esteem, stressful life events, and social support from intimate and confidant relationships. We explore this set of relationships among Latin American immigrants in Spain, a group at risk of social exclusion. Results show a positive and statistically significant relationship between social integration and SWB, after controlling for the statistical effects of the other variables. Promoting social integration in the community among immigrant population might grant them access to wider community resource…

Measuring perceived community support: Factorial structure, longitudinal invariance, and predictive validity of the PCSQ (perceived community support questionnaire)

Social support from intimate and confiding relationships has received a great deal of attention; however, the study of the community as a relevant source of support has been comparatively lacking. In this article, we present a multidimensional measure of community support (Perceived Community Support Questionnaire, PCSQ). Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on data from three samples of adult population (two-wave panel: sample 1, N = 1009 and sample 2, N = 780; and an independent sample 3, N = 440), results show that community integration, community participation, and use of community organizations are reliable indicators of the underlying construct of perceived community s…

Is It Considered Violence? The Acceptability of Physical Punishment of Children in Europe

This study analyzes correlates of the acceptability of physical punishment of children in Europe. The design was a three-level ordinal logistic regression of 10,812 people nested within 208 localities (cities), nested within 14 countries of the European Union. Results showed that higher levels of acceptability were reported by men, the older, the less educated, and those who perceived that violence against children was less frequent in their own country. At the country level, the existence of laws prohibiting physical punishment of children as well as a lower number of child maltreatment deaths were significantly associated with lower levels of acceptability of physical punishment of childr…

Public Attitudes Toward Reporting Partner Violence Against Women and Reporting Behavior

Drawing from attitude-behavior research tradition, this study used a national probabilistic sample of the Spanish adult population (N= 2,432) to test hypotheses regarding correlates of public attitudes toward reporting partner violence against women, and the relationship between attitudes toward reporting and actual reporting behavior. Results show the importance of several correlates of public attitudes toward reporting. Also, our results have suggested a potential disconnect between attitudes and behavior because failure to intervene appears to be a common response of those aware of incidents of partner violence against women.

Predicting social integration in the community among college students

This article aims to examine determinants of social integration in the community among college students. Two-wave panel data from an undergraduate student sample (N 310) was used to explore the effects of multiple sets of variables (personal, interpersonal, and situational) on social integration in the community. Structural equation analysis showed that personal (self-esteem and perceived stress) and situational (undesirable life events) variables made significant contributions to changes to social integration in the community. Implications of these and other findings are discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The expansion of social networks beyond relationships with family and peers is…

Social disorder, social integration, and subjective well-being among Latin-American immigrants in Spain

Social integration has consistently shown its positive effects on both physical and psychological well-being. The study of the influence of residential characteristics on both social integration and well-being, however, has been traditionally neglected. The present study analyzes the joint influence of both social disorder and social integration on the subjective well-being of 260 Latin-American immigrants living in the Valencian Community (Spain). Results show that levels of social disorder negatively influence both social integration and subjective well-being. These findings might orientate public policies that seek to improve the well-being of especially disadvantaged groups at risk of s…

When Violence Can Appear With Different Male Partners: Identification of Resilient and Non-resilient Women in the European Union

Introduction: Little scholarly attention has been paid to the analysis of the history of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women with different male partners and how it could be related to levels of IPV with the current male partner. From this point of view, been a victim of IPV could increase the vulnerability of women and, therefore, exert a negative influence on the selection of partners over time, thus increasing the odds of potentially mating with abusive male partners. Alternatively, for some women victims of IPV in previous relationships, there may be additional resources that reduce their vulnerability to victimization by new partners. Methodology: The present study analyzes l…

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, an…

Percepciones y Actitudes hacia la Violencia de Pareja contra la Mujer en Inmigrantes Latinoamericanos en España

Este trabajo analiza, en primer lugar, las percepciones y actitudes hacia la violencia de pareja contra la mujer de los inmigrantes latinoamericanos y de la poblacion espanola y, en segundo lugar, explora los correlatos de las actitudes hacia la denuncia de casos de violencia de pareja contra la mujer en una muestra de inmigrantes latinoamericanos. Para ello, se utilizan 3 fuentes de datos que incorporan dos muestras representativas de la poblacion espanola y un muestra de inmigrantes latinoamericanos. Los resultados muestran diferencias significativas entre espanoles e inmigrantes en las percepciones y actitudes hacia la violencia de pareja contra la mujer. Los analisis tambien muestran qu…

Internet y apoyo social: sociabilidad online y ajuste psicosocial en la sociedad de la información [Internet and social support: Online sociability and psychosocial adjustment in the information society]

Social support from intimate and confidant relationships has been traditionally linked to a better psychological well-being. With the arrival of Internet, however, other forms of social rela tionship demand our attention. In the present article, we pay attention to online social rela tionshisps as potential sources of social support, specifically for those potentially impaired in the face-to-face interaction and, thus, at risk of so cial exclusion. In this sense, recent research sug gests that online social relationships could be parallel online social relationships in terms of the benefits derived from social support (whether online or offline).

Determinants of social integration in the community: an exploratory analysis of personal, interpersonal and situational variables

This article aims to explore the effects of personal, interpersonal, and situational variables on social integration in the community. Structural equation analyses from two-wave panel data (N = 536) of adult participants living in an urban area showed that personal determinants (perceived stress and depressive mood), and situational determinants (undesirable life events) were statistically related to a decrease in social integration in the community. Interpersonal determinants (emotional, guidance, and instrumental support) were positively associated with an increase in social integration in the community. Implications of these and other findings are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &…

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 do…

Evaluating Attribution of Responsibility and Minimization by Male Batterers: Implications for Batterer Programs

Men arrested and condemned for intimate partner violence assaults tend to use external attributions to justify their behavior and tend to minimize the severity of their violent acts. Responsibility assumption is one of the main goals in many batterer programs because it could facilitate behavioral changes and reduce the dropout rate. In the current study, first we aim to create two scales to assess attribution of responsibility and minimization of incidents of partner violence, and second, to classify batterers based on their levels of minimization and their attributions of responsibility. Participants were 119 male batterers attending to the first assessment session of a court mandated bat…