Debowska, A., Boduszek, D., Jones, A.D. et al. (2 more authors) (2021) Gender-based violence-supportive cognitions in adolescent girls and boys: the function of violence exposure and victimisation. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36 (3-4). ISSN 0886-2605
Abstract
Violence against women and girls is widespread in the Caribbean, which may be due to heightened acceptance of such acts in this specific social context. In spite of this, studies investigating attitudes towards violence and their correlates among participants drawn from the region are missing. In order to address this void in the literature, we examined associations between violence exposure and victimisation and two gender-based violence-related cognitions (attitudes towards male physical domestic violence and social norms regarding physical violence against girls) as well as general beliefs about violence, using structural equation modelling. Participants were a sample of adolescent girls (n = 661; M age = 13.15) and boys (n = 639; M age = 13.22) from two Eastern Caribbean countries, Barbados and Grenada, recruited from 10 primary schools, nine secondary schools, and two youth offender centres. In considering that girls and boys were previously demonstrated to differ in their experiences as well as tolerance of violence, structural models were specified and tested separately for the two sexes. Results indicated that violence victimisation was positively strongly associated with attitudes towards male physical domestic violence and social norms regarding physical violence against girls among boys. Increased violence victimisation among girls, in turn, correlated with increased acceptance of social norms regarding physical violence against girls, but this relationship was weak. Violence exposure did not have any significant associations with any of the attitudinal variables included in the study. We discuss the importance of these findings for the development of appropriate gender-based violence prevention strategies for youths from the Eastern Caribbean.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 SAGE Publications. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Gender-based violence-supportive cognitions; General beliefs about violence; Violence exposure and victimisation; Adolescents from Barbados and Grenada; Structural equation modelling |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Psychology (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 Oct 2017 14:38 |
Last Modified: | 14 Dec 2023 14:57 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/0886260517741628 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:122511 |