The prevalence of exposure to domestic violence among high school students in tehran.
BACKGROUND
Domestic violence appears to be a major social problem. Researches in the last 10 years have uncovered multiple effects of witnessing domestic violence on children, ranging in severity from little or no effect to sever psychological harm.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to measure the prevalence of exposure to domestic violence among high school students in Tehran.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey was conducted on high school students of Tehran in the school year 2011-2012. The "Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale" was administered to a total cohort of 1,212 students (615 males and 597 females) selected by the stratified sampling method.


RESULTS
Approximately one-half of the participants (44.3%) had been exposed to their fathers's violence against their mothers at least sometimes in their lives, the most common form of which was preventing the mother from doing something (28.5%) and the least common, hurting the mother with sharp or deadly tools (9.6%). A substantial proportion of the students (90.6%) had been exposed to violence in the community or at school, the most common kind would be being heard from someone calling another person names or making fun of them (81.7%) and the least common, being injured a child in the community or at school (31.8%).


CONCLUSIONS
Exposure to violence is a widespread problem among children in Tehran. It encompasses a wide range and children were exposed to violence in different ways and forms.
National Board on Social Medicine, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Homeira
H
Sajadi
Department of Social Work, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Hossein
H
Rahimy
Social Welfare Educational Group, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Hassan
H
Rafiey
Social Welfare Management Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Meroe
M
Vameghi
Domestic Violence; Prevalence; Students