TY - JOUR
T1 - Coming of age in the shadow of the Taliban
T2 - Adolescents' and parents' views toward interpersonal violence and harmful traditional practices in Afghanistan
AU - Li, Mengmeng
AU - Rao, Krishna
AU - Natiq, Kayhan
AU - Pasha, Omrana
AU - Blum, Robert
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported in part by the IKEA Foundation throughtheUnitedNationsChildren’s Fund via a contract with International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, India Office. Additional support was provided through the William H. Gates Sr Professorial Endowment from Johns Hopkins University.
PY - 2018/12
Y1 - 2018/12
N2 - Objectives. To understand Afghan adolescents' and parents' attitudes toward interpersonal violence. Methods. We used a 2-stage sampling method in 6 provinces during 2016; we included 916 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years and 454 parents. Results. In the abstract, a minority of adolescents or parents endorsed violence; however, specific situations justified most violence (e.g., husbands beating wives, parents hitting children). Both adolescents (48.0%) and parents (39.0%) thought a wife hitting her husband was least justifiable. Endorsement of violence justification did not appear to vary significantly on the basis of parental education or wealth. More fathers rejected all violence rationale than did mothers, and women were more likely to justify wife beating (75.0% vs 58.6%; P < .01), beating of daughters (78.5% vs 60.6%; P < .01), and teachers hitting students (62.9% vs 51.5%; P < .01). Of all respondents, 25% approved of threatening a child if he or she speaks out against harmful traditional practices. Conclusions. Although it may be socially unacceptable to advocate physical aggression, most Afghans still find numerous conditions that justify it. Without deliberate violence reduction strategies, education alone is unlikely to reduce the high levels of interpersonal violence in Afghanistan.
AB - Objectives. To understand Afghan adolescents' and parents' attitudes toward interpersonal violence. Methods. We used a 2-stage sampling method in 6 provinces during 2016; we included 916 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years and 454 parents. Results. In the abstract, a minority of adolescents or parents endorsed violence; however, specific situations justified most violence (e.g., husbands beating wives, parents hitting children). Both adolescents (48.0%) and parents (39.0%) thought a wife hitting her husband was least justifiable. Endorsement of violence justification did not appear to vary significantly on the basis of parental education or wealth. More fathers rejected all violence rationale than did mothers, and women were more likely to justify wife beating (75.0% vs 58.6%; P < .01), beating of daughters (78.5% vs 60.6%; P < .01), and teachers hitting students (62.9% vs 51.5%; P < .01). Of all respondents, 25% approved of threatening a child if he or she speaks out against harmful traditional practices. Conclusions. Although it may be socially unacceptable to advocate physical aggression, most Afghans still find numerous conditions that justify it. Without deliberate violence reduction strategies, education alone is unlikely to reduce the high levels of interpersonal violence in Afghanistan.
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U2 - 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304697
DO - 10.2105/AJPH.2018.304697
M3 - Article
C2 - 30359115
AN - SCOPUS:85056390869
SN - 0090-0036
VL - 108
SP - 1688
EP - 1694
JO - American journal of public health
JF - American journal of public health
IS - 12
ER -