Severe physical punishment: risk of mental health problems for poor urban children in Brazil
Isabel A Bordin, Cristiane S Duarte, Clovis A Peres, Rosimeire Nascimento, Bartira M Curto & Cristiane S Paula
Volume 87, Number 5, May 2009, 336-344
Table 2. Demographics, mental health problems and exposure to violence among children and parents in three subsets of data on children aged 6–17 years in Embu, São Paulo, Brazil, 2002–2003
| Study variables by domain | Subset 1a | Subset 2b | Subset 3c |
|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 395) | (n = 336) | (n = 355) | |
| No. (%) | No. (%) | No. (%) | |
| Child | |||
| Gender | |||
| Femaled | 192 (48.6) | 156 (46.4) | 176 (49.6) |
| Malee | 203 (51.4) | 180 (53.6) | 179 (50.4) |
| Age group (years) | |||
| 6–10e | 184 (46.6) | 180 (53.6) | 180 (50.7) |
| 11–17d | 211 (53.4) | 156 (46.4) | 175 (49.3) |
| Mental health problems (CBCL) | |||
| Internalizing only | 92 (23.3) | NA | NA |
| Externalizing only | NA | 33 (9.8) | NA |
| Both | NA | NA | 52 (14.6) |
| None | 303 (76.7) | 303 (90.2) | 303 (85.4) |
| Severe physical punishment (last 12 months) | |||
| Yesd | 66 (16.7) | 65 (19.3) | 65 (18.3) |
| Noe | 329 (83.3) | 271 (80.7) | 290 (81.7) |
| Ever witnessing marital physical violence | |||
| Yesd | 67 (17.0) | 52 (15.5) | 63 (17.7) |
| Noe | 328 (83.0) | 284 (84.5) | 292 (82.3) |
| Mother | |||
| Education (years of schooling) | |||
| 0–7d | 240 (60.8) | 202 (60.1) | 223 (62.8) |
| > 7e | 155 (39.2) | 134 (39.9) | 132 (37.2) |
| Currently working for pay | |||
| Nod | 167 (42.3) | 151 (44.9) | 164 (46.2) |
| Yese | 228 (57.7) | 185 (55.1) | 191 (53.8) |
| Anxiety/depression (SRQ total score) | |||
| Yes (> 7)d | 106 (26.8) | 73 (21.7) | 91 (25.6) |
| No (0–7)e | 289 (73.2) | 263 (78.3) | 264 (74.4) |
| Severe physical marital violence (last 12 months) | |||
| Yesd | 7 (1.8) | 7 (2.1) | 10 (2.8) |
| Noe | 388 (98.2) | 329 (97.9) | 345 (97.2) |
| Mother’s husband/partner | |||
| Residing in the household in the last 12 months | |||
| Nod | 71 (18.0) | 55 (16.4) | 62 (17.5) |
| Yese | 324 (82.0) | 281 (83.6) | 293 (82.5) |
| Currently working for pay | |||
| No (not working or absent)d | 133 (33.7) | 113 (33.6) | 123 (34.6) |
| Yese | 262 (66.3) | 223 (66.4) | 232 (65.4) |
| Drunk one or more times (last 12 months) | |||
| Yesd | 85 (21.5) | 66 (19.6) | 69 (19.4) |
| No (not drunk or absent)e | 310 (78.5) | 270 (80.4) | 286 (80.6) |
| Family | |||
| Socioeconomic status | |||
| Lowd | 303 (76.7) | 256 (76.2) | 270 (76.1) |
| Middle–lowe | 92 (23.3) | 80 (23.8) | 85 (23.9) |
CBCL, Child Behaviour Checklist; NA, not applicable; SRQ, Self Reporting Questionnaire.
a Children with internalizing problems only + children with none.
b Children with externalizing problems only + children with none.
c Children with both internalizing and externalizing problems + children with none.
d Value = 1.
e Value = 0.