[Child maltreatment: social representation of the general population and the professionals working with children in the Caribbean area of Colombia].
OBJECTIVE
The main objective was to know social representations about child maltreatment (severity, etiology, and intervention strategies) of the general population and the professionals working with children in the Caribbean area of Colombia.


METHODS
Sample was composed for 402 participants. From this pool of participants, 111 of them were working in child protection, 95 worked with children but not in the child protection system and 196 pertained to the general population. All participants answered to a questionnaire composed by 86 items. The questionnaire was developed to assess (1) the perceived severity of different typologies of child abuse, (2) opinions about risk factors for child maltreatment and sexual abuse, and (3) opinions about the most adequate ways of intervention with perpetrator of child abuse.


RESULTS
Sexual abuse is considered as the most severe typology of child maltreatment and emotional abuse is considered as more severe than physical abuse. No differences between groups were found in perceived severity of typologies of child maltreatment. Differences in the social representation about the etiology of child maltreatment were found. Professionals working in the child protection system give more value to characteristics of parents and to the socio-economic and familiar environment in the etiology of child maltreatment than participants from the general population. Prevention and treatment programs for abusers were considered as the more relevant strategies against child maltreatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings of present study suggest that social representations about child maltreatment of general population and professionals from the Caribbean area of Colombia are similar than social representation observed in other regions and countries. It is important to take into account that child labor and child poverty were considered as non-severe typologies of child maltreatment. Moreover, findings suggest that people from general population in the Caribbean area of Colombia have a relevant knowledge about agencies working for child protection.
D017691:Caribbean Region; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003105:Colombia; D006801:Humans; D011678:Punishment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012947:Social Work / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Malos tratos infantiles: representaciones sociales de la poblacion general y de los profesionales del ámbito de la infancia en el caribe colombiano.