Research indicates effects of gender violence persist due to intergenerational transmission of violent behavior
SANTO DOMINGO - The effects of gender violence persist in society due to the intergenerational transmission of violent patterns, which perpetuates this type of behavior in future generations. The conclusion is part of the investigation Intimate partner violence and its effects on maternal mental health and children's human capital, carried out by the East Aglia University of the United Kingdom, together with the Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo (INTEC).
María Isabel Santana, professor at East Aglia University and coordinator of the research with the Department of Social Sciences and Humanities from the Psychology degree and the Center for Psychosocial Care (CAPS), explained that, as a result of the pandemic and the greater presence of women in the home, the effects of different types of violence have increased and not only affect women, but also boys and girls who witness them.
Among the main conclusions of the research is that violence is determined by the educational level and age of the mother; While the child's performance is reduced by the impact of frustrations and discomfort from family violence.
Similarly, the violence it is determined by the young woman's exposure to violence and her mother's exposure to intimate partner violence. Also, it is considered that the increase in negative attitudes in parenting and the quality of the mother's explanations influence the reduction of the child's performance in his learning and development process.
The academic project also evidenced the impact of violence on fundamental aspects such as the distribution of resources in the home, the maternal bond, and the dynamics of children who live in these circumstances.
The dissemination of the first results of the research was carried out at INTEC as part of an academic debate on the reality of relations of violence in the Dominican Republic. During the activity, Dalul Ordehi, dean of the INTEC Social Sciences and Humanities Area, said that the research is a proposal to uproot these causes that reveal social inequalities that affect the family.
The doctor invited to analyze and disseminate the most relevant contributions of the project and thanked Santana and the East Aglia University for choosing INTEC as a strategic partner to carry out the research.
“It is no secret that the issue of domestic and gender violence continues to occupy important spaces in the social process, because it is an expression where inequalities that affect growth and development in all its areas continue to manifest themselves,” Ordehi denounced in a of his interventions.
The coordinator of the project, who also collaborates with the formation of the INTEC Experimental Economy laboratory, received the support of professors and students of the INTEC Economics and Psychology careers in the surveys and field work, as well as the articles and productions that will be generated from the final result.
About the investigation
The study on Intimate partner violence and its effects on maternal mental health and children's human capital studied the behavior of the family triad, which includes the woman, her partner and the child.
This project aimed to investigate how intimate partner violence affects the formation of human capital, children, the power of negotiation and the allocation of expenses towards education within the home, and the quality of parenting by the mother. In turn, it was studied how intimate partner violence affects children's cognitive performance and learning, and how social norms influence decisions and the negotiation process of the spouse or partner.
For this, it took a sample of 1,032 homes in which the applied polls y lab Experiments, both in educational centers in different municipalities of the country and in the INTEC facilities.
Other presentations were also made during the event, such as the "National overview of violence against women and girls", by Sheila Báez, gender specialist of the Center for Gender Studies of INTEC (CEG-INTEC); “Perspectives of the impact of violence on the neurodevelopment of children”, by Dalul Ordehi; and “Dynamics of Male Behavior in a Space Where Violence Exists” by Ben D'Exelle, Professor of Economics at the University of East Aglia.
A final debate was included that included the participation of the exhibitors together with Desireé del Rosario, coordinator of the specialty in Gender and Equality Policies in Education and from the CEG-INTEC and Professor Julio Valeirón, social psychologist and coordinator of the INTEC Psychosocial Care Center.
Researchers and professors from both East Anglia University and INTEC were present. Representatives of institutions involved in this issue also attended, such as the National Institute for Comprehensive Early Childhood Care (INAIPI), the Ministry of Women, the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI), the Supérate program, the Unique System of Beneficiaries (SIUBEN); and the Center for Attention to Survivors and the Salesian Society.