Patrizia Romito

The purpose of this study was to analyze pornography exposure in a sample of 702 Italian adolescents (46% males; mean age = 18.2, SD = 0.8). Among male students, 11% were not exposed, 44.5% were exposed to nonviolent material, and 44.5% were exposed to violent/degrading material. Among female students, 60.8% were not exposed, 20.4% were exposed to nonviolent material, and 18.8% were exposed to violent/degrading material. Among males, adjusted odds ratio (AdjOR) of exposure to violent/degrading pornography were higher if using alcohol, having friends who sell/buy sex, and taking sexual pictures. Females who were victims of family violence, attending technical/vocational schools, and taking sexual pictures had higher AdjOR of watching violent pornography; smoking and having friends who sell/buy sex were associated with both nonviolent and violent/degrading exposure. Exposure to violent/degrading pornography is common among adolescents, associated with at-risk behaviors, and, for females, it correlates with a history of victimization. School nurses have a pivotal role in including discussions about pornography in interventions about relationships, sexuality, or violence.

L’article interroge le rôle des violences conjugales ainsi que des violences intrafamiliales sur les décisions reproductives des femmes. Les auteures analysent des données recueillies par questionnaire auprès de l’ensemble des femmes admises dans un hôpital de Trieste (en Italie) au cours d’une même période, les unes étant venues pour accoucher, les autres pour interrompre volontairement leur grossesse. Elles montrent que les secondes sont plus exposées aux violences que les premières. Parmi celles qui ont subi des violences, la décision d’avorter est davantage le fait des femmes les plus favorisées. L’interruption de la grossesse se révèle être un acte d’autonomisation vis-à-vis de leur conjoint, tandis que celles qui mettent un enfant au monde tout en subissant des violences apparaissent socialement plus désavantagées.

Only a few studies have analyzed the health impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on male and female adolescents, taking into account other kinds of violence that can affect their health. In this study, 43.7% of female adolescents and 34.8% of males reported IPV; females reported more psychological and sexual IPV, with no differences for physical IPV. Controlling for family and sexual violence and other confounding factors, female adolescents exposed to IPV had significantly higher adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for depression, panic attacks, eating problems, and suicidal ideation. For male adolescents, only the OR of eating problems almost reached statistical significance.

The aims of this article are to analyze exposure to pornography, its content, and the associations between victimization and pornography in a sample of 303 students (49.2% female). The questionnaire included questions on pornography exposure, psychological and physical family violence, and sexual violence. Almost all male students and 67% of female students had ever watched pornography; 42% and 32%, respectively, had watched violence against women. Female students exposed to family psychological violence and to sexual violence were significantly more likely to watch pornography, especially violent pornography than those who had not been exposed. No such association was found among male students.

Objective. To analyse the relationship between violence in the post-partum period and mothers' psychological distress. Method. Three hundred and fifty two women responded to a questionnaire after the birth, at the Trieste Hospital (Italy), and 292 of them responded to a telephone interview 8 months later. Psychological distress was evaluated with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ); partner and family violence were evaluated with a 28-item scale. Results. Eight months post-partum, 10% of women were experiencing violence either from the partner or from another family member; 5% showed high psychological distress. Multivariate analyses show that, after adjustment for covariates, the OR for depressive symptoms was 19.17 for women experiencing partner or family violence. Being dissatisfied with their working situation, hospitalisation of the baby and pre-pregnancy mental health were also significantly associated with high GHQ scores Conclusion. These results stress the relationship between violence in post-partum and maternal psychological distress. Measures aimed to identify and end violence against women around pregnancy could contribute to the improvement of women's mental health post-partum.

Our aim in conducting this study was to analyze the relationships between violence and maternal psychological distress 8 months after a birth, taking into account other important psychosocial factors, known to be associated both with violence and with new mothers’ mental health. A total of 352 women responded to a questionnaire after the birth at a maternity hospital in northern Italy, and 292 also participated in a telephone interview 8 months later. We evaluated psychological distress with the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and partner and family violence with a 28-item scale. Eight months postpartum, 5% of women showed high psychological distress; 10% were currently experiencing violence from the partner or another family member. After adjustment for covariates, the odds ratio for depressive symptoms was 13.74 for women experiencing violence. We believe that these results provide support for the important role of violence in postpartum maternal psychological distress.