title: Violence against women by male partners and against children within the family: prevalence, associated factors, and intergenerational transmission in Romania, a cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Domestic violence is a public health problem with negative consequences. We aimed to determine the prevalence of violence between parents and by parents against children, types of intimate partner violence against women, the intergenerational transmission of violence, and to identify a profile of beliefs and judgements regarding violent behaviour.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data used for this article were sourced from three cross-sectional studies performed in Romania in 2009-2011. We sampled 869 respondents (male and female) with a homogenous distribution between environment, gender, educational level, and age group (18 to 75). From a 96-item questionnaire regarding family and reproductive health, this article refers to four items: (1) feelings relating to the family in which they were raised; (2) whether they witnessed violence between parents or were victims of violence by parents or other family members during childhood or the teenage years; (3) opinions relating to 10 statements on violence from Maudsley Violence Questionnaire; (4) the manifestation of psychological, emotional, and sexual abuse from the partner in the family of procreation (FOP). The data were analysed by Pearson chi-square tests and latent class analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During childhood, 35% of respondents witnessed parental violence and 53.7% were victims of family violence. Psychological abuse by men against women was the most common type of violence reported in the FOP (45.1%). Violence in childhood and adolescence correlated with the perception of the family of origin as a hostile environment and of violence against women as a corrective measure, and that insults, swearing, and humiliation by their partner within the FOP is acceptable (p < 0.05). A profile of beliefs and judgements about violent behaviour indicated that the Impulsive reactive cluster is represented by men in rural areas, and by subjects who witnessed parental violence or were victims of violence during childhood (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In Romania, the use of violence as a form of discipline or instruction of children and women remains a significant problem, with a higher rate of intimate partner violence than in other developed countries. Furthermore, implementing intervention mechanisms for psychological abuse is urgently required, as are education and intervention in high-risk populations.
authors: Biomedical department, "Francisc I, Rainer" Anthropology Institute of the Romanian Academy, 8 Avenue Eroii Sanitari, O,P, 35, C,P, 13, Sector 5, 050474 Bucharest, Romania. corneliarada@yahoo.com.
authors: Cornelia
authors: C
authors: Rada
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012383:Romania / Q000453:epidemiology; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult