Video and digital games have been the focus of sustained public and scientific debate since their commercial emergence in the late 1970s, particularly regarding their effects on children and adolescents. Early public and scientific discourse frequently portrayed gaming as a source of physical injury, addiction, aggression, social isolation, academic problems, and moral decline. However, subsequent empirical research has produced a substantially more differentiated picture of both the benefits and risks of gaming. This review examines the historical foundations of controversies surrounding video and digital games and synthesizes contemporary evidence concerning their cognitive, emotional, social, therapeutic, and physical effects. . Research indicates that moderate, purposeful gaming may improve visuospatial abilities, attentional control, problem-solving, mood regulation, social connection, and selected educational outcomes. Gaming-based interventions have also demonstrated therapeutic potential, particularly for depressive symptoms and attention-related difficulties among young people. At the same time, important risks remain, especially when gaming becomes excessive, compulsive, or disruptive to everyday functioning. These include repetitive-strain injuries, sleep disruption, problematic gaming, and adverse mental-health and academic outcomes. Evidence concerning violent games and serious real-world aggression remains more contested, with recent research emphasizing relatively small effects and the importance of individual and contextual factors. Overall, the evidence suggests that the developmental consequences of gaming for children and adolescents depend less on gaming itself than on the duration, content, context, and pattern of engagement.
This book is a compilation of papers authored by academicians, practitioners, researchers who are the witnesses to increasing challenges in mitigating violence against children. Children are considered to be the backbone of human development. Violence against children is a multi-dimensional phenomenon which consists of all forms of physical, mental torture, injury, abuse, neglect, maltreatment and sexual abuse perpetrated on them. It is very evident that children experience certain forms of violence at their various stages of life. Global evidence suggests that girls and boys in certain contexts are more vulnerable to violence (UNICEF, 2017). For instance, vulnerability may be heightened for children living with disabilities, in institutional care and deprived of liberty; those living in extreme poverty, unaccompanied or separated from family; children on the move (migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced children); and children living with HIV, facing discrimination for their sexual orientation or gender identity, belonging to marginalized social or ethnic groups, and those living with other social and economic disadvantages. While individual factors that increase the risk of violence are clearly important, there is broad consensus in the field that violence prevention and response must not focus too narrowly on individual characteristics of victims and perpetrators rather the focus should be enlarged to give more attention to broader social, economic, normative and institutional environments in which children and adolescents live.
<span>Edutainment has potential to promote behavior change at scale, however effectiveness in addressing violence against women and children is still emerging. This review summarizes evidence from 21 rigorous evaluations measuring impacts on violence-related attitudes, norms and behaviors. Overall, 71% of 21 studies show promising increases in anti-violence attitudes and norms, while 64% of 11 studies show reductions in violent behaviors. Violence against women has the largest body of evidence with 13 studies yet with comparatively weak findings (57 – 62% show protective impacts across outcomes), while evidence on child, early and forced marriage is comparatively stronger, however with fewer studies (with 63 – 75% show protective impacts across outcomes). Findings for female genital mutilation show promise, however with limited evidence. Only one study with null effects was found for violence against children. Few studies contain adverse impacts, however numerous studies show variable impacts, depending on study arm, follow-up period or target group. There is evidence for mechanisms related to acquisition of information, individual persuasion, norm diffusion and increases in service linkages. Despite promising impacts, there are numerous open research questions and methodological challenges to tackle before the power of edutainment can be maximized for violence-related behavior change at scale.</span>
Interpersonal Violence Against Children and Youth uses empirical research to provide an overview of the risk factors, different types of violence against children and youth, their victimizations (online and offline), as well as prevention practices and strategies. Pulling together researchers, practitioners, and educators from around the world, this book addresses the various practices and efforts different countries use to protect children and prevent interpersonal violence. These forms of violence include parental or caregiver initiated, actions of peers, intimate partner-related, or that among strangers and are not limited to maltreatment, bullying, emotional strife, sexual assault, or homicidal violence. This book would be of interest to those studying criminology, criminal justice, sociology, social work, law, forensic pathology and others.
Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the "Violence Against Children and Its Prevention" course on university students' awareness of domestic violence and their sensitivity to violence against children. Material and Method: The study was conducted during the 2021-2022 academic year at a state university located in the Mediterranean region. One hundred students who enrolled in the elective course "Violence Against Children and Its Prevention" participated in the study, with 81 students completing it. Data were collected using the Student Identification Form, the Domestic Violence Awareness Scale (DVAS), and the Sensitivity to Violence Against Children Scale (SVACS) through a Google survey. Descriptive statistics, Shapiro-Wilk, Man-Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis, and Wilcoxon tests were used for data analysis. Ethical approval was obtained before the study. Results: The average age of the students was 21.1±2.2 years, with 23.5% male and 90.1% second-year undergraduate students. DVAS scores showed statistically significant differences based on gender and family type before the course, but these differences disappeared afterward. SVACS scores showed differences based on gender, class level, and parental education level before the course, but only gender and father's education level differences persisted after the course. DVAS scores significantly increased after the course (p<0.05), whereas SVACS scores did not show statistically significant changes (p>0.05). Conclusion: Future randomized controlled studies are recommended to evaluate the effectiveness of different educational programs aimed at increasing sensitivity to violence against children.
The interdisciplinary silences on sexual violence and the omission of children and youth from social science research speak volumes of the power of the child as a flexible, cultural signifier. In this article, I argue that dominant frameworks of children and childhood make child sexual assault a discursive impossibility for most young people. The epistemic violence of silencing matters, and it is these erasures that are fundamental to understanding violence and power. I argue it is paramount for feminist researchers to call attention to the undermining qualities of Institutional Review Boards that act as gatekeepers of representation and voice.
Introduction and backgroundEarly marriage and maternity represent a violation of human rights and a barrier to achieving gender equality in education. Studies conducted across various regions and countries, including Mozambique, have highlighted the negative consequences of early marriage and maternity, particularly on adolescent girls' physical, educational and mental health. Adolescent girls who marry before the age of 18 are more prone to a broad spectrum of mood, anxiety, and other psychiatric disorders. In the districts of Maganja da Costa and Morrumbala in Zambézia Province, Mozambique, high rates of early marriage persist despite government policies and interventions.Purpose statementThis study aims to understand early marriage's socio-cultural, economic, and psychological drivers and impacts on adolescent girls' lives, focusing on education, mental health, and well-being.Design and methodsThis paper used a qualitative research design. We employed a life-story approach and used purposeful sampling to identify participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants and the data were analysed using Tesch's thematic analysis approach.ResultsElements contributing to early marriage and pregnancy are intricately linked with socio-cultural elements. These include the induction into specific societal roles, the affirmation of childbearing, the perceived importance of dowry, the impact of rite-of-passage ceremonies, and the cultural significance associated with a girl's initial menstruation. School dropout often originates from geographical and transportation challenges, nudging adolescent girls towards early marriage. In some instances, termination of pregnancy was viewed as a solution, while engaging in sexual activities was seen as a means to inject purpose into their lives or as a response to poverty. Positive changes and emotions were evident, yet regrettably, the ramifications of early pregnancy and marriage were primarily detrimental. These influenced the adolescent girls' interpersonal connections, educational and career opportunities, emotional well-being, and access to support networks.ConclusionsThe modern perspective, which advocates for equal educational rights for boys and girls and posits that marriage should occur after the age of 18, contradicts the socio-cultural perspective of adulthood.ContributionThis study adds to the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat early marriage and maternity in Africa.
Background: Early marriage occurs at the age of less than 19 years. The incidence of early marriage is caused by cultural factors of early marriage, married by accident, education, and low economic conditions all affect early marriage. The mental health impact of early marriage can lead to anxiety, stress, and depression. Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between early marriage and mental health in adolescent girls. Methods: This study uses quantitative research methods using a cross-sectional research design. The total population is 49 people, and the sampling method used is total sampling. The study was conducted for 1 month. The research instrument used the DASS21 questionnaire and data collection sheets. The data analysis of this research was univariate and bivariate analysis. Results: The results showed that the frequency of adolescents experiencing severe stress was 40.8%, very severe anxiety reached 42.9%, and very severe depression reached 53.1%. There is a relationship between early marriage and severe stress with a p-value of 0.001, there is a relationship between early marriage and very severe anxiety with a p-value of 0.001, and there is a relationship between early marriage and very severe depression with a p-value of 0.004. Conclusion: It can be concluded that early marriage has a relationship with mental health in adolescent girls in the Ngemplak Region and future research should involve husbands in in-depth qualitative research exploring in depth the causes of the mental health of young women who took early marriages.
Child or early marriage, primarily due to cultural factors, continues as a tradition and seems to be a growing phenomenon in Jordan. This research explores the lived experience of early marriage from the perspective of adolescent girls and young women. A qualitative research design and in-depth face-to-face interviews in the Arabic language were conducted with 36 female subjects, married before the age of 18 and all newlyweds, married for less than 3 years. Six major themes emerged from the interviews to describe the experience of the participants: “Feeling remorse about getting married early”; “Loss of authority and feeling powerless”; “Reasons behind early marriage”; “Feeling pressure to have the first baby”; “Early marriage and pregnancy health consequences”; and “The positive aspects of an early marriage.” The lived experience revealed in this study confirm the overall negative effect of girls entering marriage at a young age, Early marriage is a violation of human rights, and robs girls of their childhood, education, work, and other life choices, in addition to the reported adverse psychological and physical effects.
Background: Secondary education and delayed marriage provide long-term socio-economic and health benefits to adolescent girls. We tested whether a multi-level, structural and norms-based intervention could reduce secondary school drop-out and child marriage among rural, marginalised adolescent girls in southern India. Methods: 80 of 121 village clusters in Vijayapura and Bagalkote districts, Karnataka State, were randomly selected (40 intervention; 40 control). Scheduled-caste/scheduled-tribe girls aged 12-13 years in the final year of primary school were enrolled into the study. The primary trial outcomes were the proportion of girls who (i) completed secondary school and (ii) were married, by trial end-line (15-16 years). <br>Findings: 92.6% (2257/2457) of girls at baseline and 72.8% (1788/2457) at end-line were interviewed. At end-line, a quarter had not completed secondary school (control=24.9%/intervention=25.4%), and 10% were married (control=9.6%/intervention=10.1%). These were lower than expected, with no difference between arms. There was no difference in other schooling or sexual and reproductive outcomes by trial arm. Stratified by district, there were small but significant increases in secondary school completion (control=73%; intervention=77%) among girls in Vijayapura. <br>Interpretation: Low school drop-out and marriage rates reflect large secular changes and government programming during our trial. This makes it difficult to assess the value of the intervention overall or the value of this approach in settings where school dropout and child marriage are persistently high. Further research is needed to explore interventions for the substantial minority of girls who remain at risk of marriage and school drop-out in this setting. <br>Funding Statement: Project Samata was funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) as part of STRIVE, a 6-year programme of research and action devoted to tackling the structural drivers of HIV and ViiV Healthcare. <br>Declaration of Interests: The authors confirm no conflicting interests. <br>Ethics Approval Statement: This work complies with the Principles of the Ethical Practice of Public Health code. The study was approved by ethics committees at St John’s Medical College, Bangalore (Ref 111/2013), LSHTM (Ref 7083), and the University of Manitoba (Ref H2014:414).
