Factores de riesgo y de protección en la violencia entre novios

Abstract

Violence in young couples is a severe social problem that has serious consequences for victims. Thus, the selective evaluation in young people is essential to identify both risk and protective potential factors. The main objective of the current study is to analyze the differences in the experience of victimization by gender and educational level, in a group of 3775 students aged between 15 and 25 years from different educational centers across Huelva, and from the University of Huelva. Dating Violence Questionnaire (CUVINO), which assesses both the frequency of violent behaviors and levels of discomfort associated with these behaviors, was applied. The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test showed significant differences, both in prevalence and attitudes. Regarding the educational level, the level of discomfort of the different situations evaluated was higher in the University students than in the rest of students (secondary school, high school and professional training). In relation to the gender variable, the mean of men were higher than women in terms of frequency, while the levels of discomfort and the abuse rates were higher in women. Consequently, it is possible to consider the level of education as a protective factor, and sex as a risk factor. Therefore, if the level of education increases, the level of tolerance for violence decreases, and female is more vulnerable in the case of dating violence. These results may provide some keys for the design of possible types of intervention and prevention in youth violence cases.