Peer-reviewed article
Culture and Public Support for Violence Against Children in Six Nations
Bilal Hassan ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examines how cultural and religious values relate to public attitudes toward violence against children across three South Asian and three European countries. Using data from the World Values Survey, researchers found that secularism, post-materialist values, and reduced respect for authority are associated with lower support for violence against children. However, the patterns vary across countries and cultures, suggesting the relationship between cultural values and attitudes to violence is more complex than expected.
Key points
- Individuals not affiliated with religious organizations are more inclined to reject violence against children
- Belief that God is not important in life correlates with reduced support for violence against children
- Post-materialist values show negative correlation with support for violence against children
- Evidence of rejection of violence exists even among adherents of traditional values
- No consistent cross-cultural pattern of association was found across the six nations
Limitations
This study uses correlational data from the World Values Survey and cannot establish causation. The findings describe associations between cultural values and attitudes rather than demonstrating how values shape behaviour or actual incidence of violence against children.
Abstract
This study explores the link between culture and support for violence against children in six South Asian (Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan) and European (Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden) countries. Utilizing data from the World Values Survey, it tests three hypotheses based on modernization theory. Results reveal that various measures of secularism are negatively associated with support for violence against children. For instance, individuals not affiliated with any religious organizations are more inclined to reject such violence. Similarly, belief that God is not important in life and respect for authority is a bad thing are linked to reduced support for violence against children. Moreover, post-materialist values show a negative correlation with violence. However, there is also evidence of rejection of violence against children among adherents of traditional values. The study does not discern a consistent cross-cultural pattern of association, suggesting that the spillover effects of secular value orientations are more complex than initially expected.