Top

Published in:

01-04-2008 | Original article

Domestic Violence, Couple Interaction and Children’s Health in Latin America

Authors: Tim B. Heaton, Renata Forste

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 3/2008

Abstract

This paper examines the relationships between several measures of couple interaction and children’s health. We hypothesize that more maternal input in decision-making, joint discussion of health issues, and the absence of violence and male control are conducive to better child health. Mortality and nutritional status are used as measures of child health. Analyses are based on Demographic and Health Surveys in five Latin American countries (Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Haiti and Nicaragua). Violence is the best interaction predictor of poor nutrition and lack of female autonomy is the best predictor of higher mortality. Joint discussion of family planning and joint decision-making about household issues are also predictive of child health. Male controlling behavior did not have a strong relationship with health outcomes in most countries. Overall, findings indicate that positive couple interaction is associated with improved health outcomes for children.

Alderman, H., Behrman, J. R., Lavy, V., & Menson, R. (2001). Child health and school enrollment: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Human Resources, 36(1), 185–205.CrossRef

Amato, P. R. (1998). More than money? Men’s contributions to their children’s lives. In A. Booth, & A. C. Crouter (Eds.) Men in families: When do they get involved? What difference does it make?. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Baca Zinn, M. (1995). Social science theorizing for Latino families in the age of diversity. In R. E. Zambrano (Ed.) Understanding Latino families: Scholarship, policy, and practice pp. 177–189. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Barrett, H., & Browne, A. W. (1996). Health, hygiene and maternal education: Evidence from the Gambia. Social Science & Medicine, 46, 1579–1590.CrossRef

Behrman, J. R. (1993). The economic rationale for investing in nutrition in developing countries. World Development, 21(11), 1749–72.CrossRef

Bicego, G. T., & Boerma, J. T. (1993). Maternal education and child survival: A comparative study of survey data from 17 countries. Social Science & Medicine, 36(9), 1207–27.CrossRef

Biller, H. B. (1993). Fathers and families: Paternal factors in child development. Westport, CT: Auburn House.

Bloom, S. S., Wypij, D., & das Gupta, M. (2001). Dimensions of women’s autonomy and the influence on maternal health care utilization in a North Indian city. Demography, 38, 67–78.PubMedCrossRef

Boardman, J. D., Powers, D. A., Padilla, Y. C., & Hummer, R. A. (2002). Low birth weight, social factors, and developmental outcomes among children in the United States. Demography, 39(2), 353–368.PubMedCrossRef

Boehmer, U., & Williamson, J. B. (1996). The impact of women’s status on infant mortality rate: A cross-national analysis. Social Indicators Research, 37, 333–360.CrossRef

Booth, A., & Crouter, A. C. (1998) (Eds.), Men in families: When do they get involved? What differences does it make? Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Caldwell, J., & Caldwell, P. (1993). Women’s position and child mortality and morbidity in less developed countries. In N. Federici, K. O. Mason, & S. Sogner (Eds.) Women’s position and demographic change (pp. 122–139). Oxford: Clarendon.

Campbell, J. C. (2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. The Lancet, 359, 1331–1336.CrossRef

Conley, D., & Bennet, N. G. (2000). Is biology destiny? Birth weight and life chances. American Sociological Review, 65(3), 458–467.CrossRef

Das Gupta, M. (1990). Death clustering, mothers’ education and the determinants of child mortality in rural Punjab, India. Population Studies, 44, 489–505.CrossRef

Day, R. D., Gavazzi, S., & Accock, A. C. (1997). Compelling family processes. In A. Thornton (Ed.) The well-being of children and families (pp. 103–126). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

Dufour, D. L. (1997). Nutrition, activity, and health in children. Annual Review of Anthropology, 26, 541–565.CrossRef

Flake, D. F., & Forste, R. (2006). Fighting families: Family characteristics associated with domestic violence in five Latin American countries. Journal of Family Violence, 21(1), 19–29.CrossRef

Forste, R. (1994). The effects of breastfeeding and birth spacing on infant and child mortality in Bolivia. Population Studies, 48, 497–511.CrossRef

Forste, R. (1998). Infant feeding practices and child health in Bolivia. Journal of Biosocial Science, 30, 107–125.PubMedCrossRef

Frost, M., Forste, R., & Haas, D. (2005). Maternal education and child nutritional status in Bolivia: Finding the links. Social Science & Medicine, 60, 395–407.CrossRef

Gage, A. J. (2005). Women’s experience of intimate partner violence in Haiti. Social Science & Medicine, 61(2), 343–364.CrossRef

Harris, K. M., Furstenberg Jr., F. F., & Marmer, J. K. (1998). Paternal involvement with adolescents in intact families: The influence of fathers over the life course. Demography, 35(2), 201–216.PubMedCrossRef

Heaton, T. B., & Forste, R. (2003). Rural/urban differences in child growth and survival in Bolivia. Rural Sociology, 68(3), 410–433.CrossRef

Heaton, T. B., Huntsman, T. J., & Flake, D. F. (2005). The effects of status on women’s autonomy in Bolivia, Peru, and Nicaragua. Population Research and Policy Review, 24, 283–300.CrossRef

Hogan, D., Berhanu, B., & Hailemariam, H. (1999). Household organization, women’s autonomy, and contraceptive behavior in southern Ethiopia. Studies in Family Planning, 30, 302–314.PubMedCrossRef

Jejeebhoy, S. J. (1995). Women’s education, autonomy, and reproductive behavior: Experience from developing countries. Oxford: Clarendon.

Jejeebhoy, S. J. (1998). Associations between wife-beating and fetal and infant death: Impressions from a survey in rural India. Studies in Family Planning, 29(3), 300–308.PubMedCrossRef

Kishor, S. (2000). Empowerment of women in Egypt and links to the survival and health of their infants. In H. G. Presser, & G. Sen (Eds.) Women’s empowerment and demographic processes (pp. 119–156). New York: Oxford University Press.

Kishor, S., & Johnson, K. (2004). Profiling domestic violence—A multi-country study. Calverton, Maryland: ORC Macro.

Kishor, S., & Johnson, K. (2006). Reproductive health and domestic violence: Are the poorest women uniquely disadvantaged? Demography, 43(2), 293–307.PubMedCrossRef

Korenman, S., Kaestner, R., & Joyce, T. (2002). Consequences for infants of parental disagreement in pregnancy intention. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 34(4), 198–205.PubMedCrossRef

Kuate-Defo, B. (1996). Areal socioeconomic differentials in infant and child mortality in Cameroon. Social Science & Medicine, 42(3), 399–420.CrossRef

Lewis, O. (1960). Tepoztlan. New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.

Lewis, O. (1961). The children of Sanchez. New York, NY: Random House.

Marsiglio, W. (Ed.). (1995). Fatherhood: Contemporary theory, research, and social policy. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mason, K. O. (1993). The impact of women’s position on demographic change during the course of development. In N. Federici, K. O. Mason, & S. Sogner (Eds.) Women’s position and demographic change. New York: Oxford University Press.

Mason, K. O., & Smith, H. (2000). Husbands’ versus wives’ fertility goals and use of contraception: The influence of gender context in five Asian countries. Demography, 37, 299–311.PubMedCrossRef

Mirandé, A. (1998). Hombres y machos: Masculinity and Latino culture. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Moore, M. (1999). Reproductive health and intimate partner violence. Family Planning Perspectives, 31(6), 302–306,312.

Pallitto, C. C., & O’Campo, P. (2005). Community level effects of gender inequality on intimate partner violence and unintended pregnancy in Colombia: Testing the feminist perspective. Social Science & Medicine, 60(10), 2205–2216.

Panitz, D. R., McConchie, R. D., Sauber, S. R., & Fonseca, J. A. (1983). The role of machismo and the Hispanic family in the etiology and treatment of alcoholism in Hispanic American men. The Journal of Family Therapy, 11, 31–44.CrossRef

Parke, R. D., & Sterns, P. N. (1993). Fathers and child rearing. In G. Elder Jr., J. Modell, & R. D. Parke (Eds.) Children in time and place: Developmental and historical insights (pp. 147–170). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Powell, D. R. (1995). Including Latino fathers in parent education and support programs: Development of a program model. In R. E. Zambrana (Ed.) Understanding Latino families (pp. 85–106). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Sable, M. R., & Wilkinson, D. S. (2000). Impact of perceived stress, major life events and pregnancy attitudes on low birth weight. Family Planning Perspectives, 32(6), 288–294.PubMedCrossRef

Shen, C., & Williamson, J. B. (1997). Child mortality, women’s status, economic dependency, and state strength: A cross-national study of less developed countries. Social Forces, 76, 667–694.CrossRef

Shorris, E. (1992). Latinos: A biography of the people. New York: Norton Press.

Straus, M. A., & Gelles, R. J. (1989). Physical violence in American families: Risk factors and adaptation to violence in 8,145 families. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Triandis, H. C. (1983). Some dimensions of intercultural variation and their implications for community sociology. Journal of Community Psychology, 11, 285–301.CrossRef

Upadhyay, U. D., & Hindin, M. J. (2005). Do higher status and more autonomous women have longer birth intervals? Social Science & Medicine, 60, 2641–2655.CrossRef

Ybarra, L. (1982). When wives work: The impact on the Chicano family. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 44, 169–78.CrossRef

Yeung, W. J., Duncan, G. J., & Hill, M. S. (2000). Putting fathers back in the picture: Parental activities and children’s adult outcomes. In H. E. Peters, G. W. Peterson, S. K. Steinmetz, & R. D. Day (Eds.) Fatherhood: Research, interventions, and policies. New York NY: Haworth Press.

Zavella, P. (1987). Women’s work and Chicano families: Cannery workers of the Santa Clara Valley. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Title: Domestic Violence, Couple Interaction and Children’s Health in Latin America
Authors: Tim B. Heaton
Renata Forste
Publication date: 01-04-2008
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Family Violence / Issue 3/2008
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-007-9142-7

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Domestic Violence, Couple Interaction and Children’s Health in Latin America

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2008

Marital Satisfaction and Marital Discord as Risk Markers for Intimate Partner Violence: A Meta-analytic Review

Problem Drinking, Jealousy, and Anger Control: Variables Predicting Physical Aggression Against a Partner

Predictors of Child Behavior Problems among Children of Female Vietnam Veterans

Effects of Perpetrator and Victim Gender on Negative Outcomes of Family Violence

Attitudes of Men and Women Towards Wife Beating: Findings From Palestinian Refugee Camps in Jordan

The Effect of Coercion on Aggression and Mental Health Among Reciprocally Violent Couples