Intimate partner violence in adolescence: an analysis of gender and generation

We found that 91% of participants have perpetrated and 90.1% have undergone at least one of the natures of violence. The intimate partner violence in adolescence constitutes a form of gender violence, and gender constructions have determined the suffered and perpetrated aggressions, possibly also determining the naturalization and legitimization of such aggressions. The inequality of power between generations may determine greater vulnerability of youngsters to the phenomenon.

Conclusion:

The historical and social construction of masculinity and femininity and the power inequalities set by these constructions converge with the power inequality between generations. Thus, gender and generation are determinants of intimate partner violence in adolescence, as well as of the vulnerability of adolescents to this phenomenon.

Descriptors:
Adolescent Health; Gender and Health; Violence Against Women; Intimate Partner Violence; Adolescent

Variables	Female		Male		Total		p value
Variables	n	%	n	%	n	%	p value
Already had casual relationships or dated people¹ 1 Fisher’s exact test;							0.006^* * Statistically significant difference (p<0.05)
Of the opposite sex	46	66.7	38	90.5	84	75.7
Of the same sex and opposite sex	21	30.4	3	7.1	24	21.6
Of the same sex	2	2.9	1	2.4	3	2.7
Had sexual intercourse² 2 Chi-square test;							0.020^* * Statistically significant difference (p<0.05)
Yes	49	74.2	22	52.4	71	65.7
No	17	25.8	20	47.6	37	34.3
Currently has sexual intercourse with¹ 1 Fisher’s exact test;							0.002^* * Statistically significant difference (p<0.05)
Only one fixed partner	43	87.8	11	50	54	76.1
Non-fixed partners	3	6.1	8	36.4	11	15.5
One fixed partner and non-fixed partners	3	6.1	3	13.6	6	8.5
Had sexual intercourse with people¹ 1 Fisher’s exact test;
Of the opposite sex	37	75.5	19	86.4	56	78.9	0.730
Of the same sex	6	12.2	2	9.1	8	11.3
Both	6	12.2	1	4.5	7	9.9

Variables	Female		Male		Total		p value
Variables	n	%	n	%	n	%	p value
Age of the selected person¹ 1 Chi-square test;
He/she is or was older than you	40	58.8	8	19.0	48	43.6	<0.001^* * Statistically significant difference (p<0.05).
He/she has or had the same age as you	25	36.8	17	40.5	42	38.2
He/she is or was younger than you	3	4.4	17	40.5	20	18.2
Frequency of discussions/fights² 2 Fisher’s exact test;
Few times	41	61.2	15	35.7	56	51.4
Never	9	13.4	18	42.9	27	24.8	0.005^* * Statistically significant difference (p<0.05).
Many times	14	20.9	8	19.0	22	20.2
Always	3	4.5	1	2.4	4	3.7

Variables	Female		Male		Total		p value
Variables	n	%	n	%	n	%	p value
Were victims of physical violence¹ 1 Fisher’s exact test;	2	3.0	2	4.8	4	3.7	0.641
Were perpetrators of physical violence¹ 1 Fisher’s exact test;	4	6.1	1	2.4	5	4.6	0.647
Were victims of psychological violence² 2 Chi-square test.	21	30.9	8	19.0	29	26.4	0.171
Were perpetrators of psychological violence² 2 Chi-square test.	14	21.2	6	14.3	20	18.5	0.366
Were victims of sexual violence¹ 1 Fisher’s exact test;	5	7.5	2	4.8	7	6.4	0.705
Were perpetrators of sexual violence¹ 1 Fisher’s exact test;	0	0.0	1	2.4	1	0.9	0.389

Variables	Female		Male		Total
Variables	n	%	n	%	n	%
Perpetrated sexual violence	15	21.7	16	38.1	31	27.9
Suffered sexual violence	23	33.3	13	31.0	36	32.4
Perpetrated physical violence	21	30.4	4	9.5	25	22.5
Suffered physical violence	11	15.9	9	21.4	20	18.0
Perpetrated verbal/emotional violence	66	95.7	34	81.0	100	90.1
Suffered verbal/emotional violence	64	92.8	35	83.3	99	89.2
Perpetrated relational violence	5	7.2	4	9.5	9	8.1
Suffered relational violence	15	21.7	10	23.8	25	22.5
Perpetrated threats	20	29.0	4	9.5	24	21.6
Suffered threats	21	30.4	7	16.7	28	25.2
Perpetrated abusive behaviors	66	95.7	35	83.3	101	91.0
Suffered abusive behaviors	65	94.2	35	83.3	100	90.1

Variables	Mean	Median	Standard deviation	Maximum value	p ^* * Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test; A: marginal value (p = 0.05);
Perpetrated sexual violence	0.5	0.0	1.0	6
Female	0.4	0.0	0.9	6	0.053A
Male	0.7	0.0	1.1	4
Suffered sexual violence	0.8	0.0	1.9	12
Female	0.9	0.0	2.2	12	0.800
Male	0.6	0.0	1.0	4
Perpetrated physical violence	0.5	0.0	1.3	8
Female	0.8	0.0	1.5	8	0.009^ Statistically significant difference (p<0.05).
Male	0.2	0.0	0.7	4
Suffered physical violence	0.5	0.0	1.5	10
Female	0.5	0.0	1.8	10	0.440
Male	0.5	0.0	1.1	4
Perpetrated verbal/emotional	8.0	7.0	6.1	27
Female	9.3	9.0	6.1	27	0.002^ Statistically significant difference (p<0.05).
Male	5.9	4.5	5.6	19
Suffered verbal/emotional	8.2	6.0	6.6	28
Female	8.9	8.0	6.5	28	0.104
Male	7.1	6.0	6.7	23
Perpetrated relational	0.2	0.0	0.9	8
Female	0.1	0.0	0.4	2	0.598
Male	0.4	0.0	1.4	8
Suffered relational violence	0.5	0.0	1.3	8
Female	0.5	0.0	1.4	8	0.963
Male	0.5	0.0	1.3	8
Perpetrated threats	0.5	0.0	1.2	6
Female	0.7	0.0	1.4	6	0.012^ Statistically significant difference (p<0.05).
Male	0.1	0.0	0.5	3
Suffered threats	0.7	0.0	1.8	12
Female	0.9	0.0	2.0	12	0.091
Male	0.4	0.0	1.4	8
Perpetrated abusive behaviors	9.8	8.0	8.0	31
Female	11.3	9.0	8.1	31	0.003^ Statistically significant difference (p<0.05).
Male	7.2	5.0	7.2	28
Suffered abusive behaviors	10.7	7.0	10.9	64
Female	11.7	8.0	11.8	64	0.136
Male	9.1	6.0	9.3	38

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[1] CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Bianca de Cássia Alvarez Brancaglioni. E-mail: bianca.brancaglioni@gmail.com