Letícia Angélica Geraldo Croccoli Violência doméstica: manifestação de comportamentos externalizantes e sintomas internalizantes em adolescentes

Abstract

This quantitative cross-sectional study, of a descriptive and exploratory nature, investigated the effects of domestic violence on the manifestation of externalizing behaviors and internalizing symptoms in adolescents. Previous research indicates that a history of exposure to domestic violence would be associated with an increased clinical rate of behavior problems and internalizing symptoms. From this perspective, it is hypothesized that adolescents who have been exposed to domestic violence will present higher rates of internalizing symptoms and externalizing behaviors than adolescents who have not been exposed to this condition. Participants of this study were 202 adolescents, aged 11 to 14 years old, in a situation of social vulnerability, who attended previously selected Non-Governmental Organizations in the southern, northern and northwestern areas of São Paulo city, from April to June 2023. Data collection included the application of the following instruments: Inventory of Phrases in the Diagnosis of Domestic Violence against Children and Adolescents (IFVD), to investigate exposure to domestic violence; Youth Self-Report (YSR), to identify emotional manifestations and clinical-level behaviors; and the General Data Sheet, for sample characterization. Statistical analysis, using the IBM SPSS Statistics version 25 program, with a significance level of 0.05, found that internalizing factors, such as anxiety/depression and somatic complaints, are correlated in 17.8% and 19.3%, respectively, with domestic violence, just as externalizing factors of aggressive behavior, are correlated in 14.8% with this condition. Emotional disturbances and manifestations of behavioral problems are important indicators of the stage of emotional development in adolescence. Understanding the possible causes of such manifestations contributes to the establishment of interventions aimed at both the adolescent and the family environment, enabling the promotion of psychological health from the early stages of development and offering a dynamic understanding of the processes, which can subsequently serve as a basis for the creation of public policies to protect children and adolescence