Violência na infância e adolescência: características de uma cidade do nordeste brasileiro
Violence during childhood and adolescence: characteristics of a town in Northeast Brazil
Keywords:
Child abuse, domestic violence, mental health, women.Abstract
Objective: To characterize the profi le of adolescent girls victimized by mistreatment and abuse during childhood in a town
in Northeast Brazil. Methods: Based on a quantitative approach, this study was conducted in ten state and municipal
government schools in Sobral, Ceará State, with 949 girls between 12 and 19 years old, attending classes regularly. They
were approached at school and told about the objective and approximate length of the questionnaire, requesting their
voluntary participation in the survey and guaranteeing their anonymity and confi dentiality. After agreeing to participate,
they completed the questionnaire in a quiet and comfortable setting. Results: A total of 949 questionnaires were collected,
with only fi ve refusals. Among these respondents, 698 (73.6%) had experienced some form of violence during childhood.
These data highlight the fact that violence is a reality in Brazil, ranked as an extremely complex phenomenon with multiple
consequences. Conclusion: This study showed that violence can happen anywhere, with the type of home or other
residents not being signifi cant. Due to its high occurrence in childhood, we are concerned about the future bio-psycho
social behavior of these adolescents. These fi ndings should prompt further in-depth studies of the determining factors
leading to abuse and mistreatment in this segment of the population.

