1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«With the goal of making progress in our understanding of violence at a population level, this paper presents the main results of the third province-wide Quebec survey, which was conducted in 2012. More specifically, the paper aims to describe the annual frequency and prevalence of psychological aggression and physical violence toward children living with a mother figure. It also presents recent trends based on a comparison with previous surveys, which were conducted in 1999 and 2004.» (p. 32)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The three surveys were conducted with mother figures and reached a total of 9,646 children over a 13-year period: 2,469 children in 1999, 3,148 children in 2004 and 4,029 children in 2012.» (p. 32)

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«In sum, the results of this study are encouraging in light of the decrease in minor forms of violence in the past decade. However, they stress the importance of supporting parents of children aged 3-6 years and 11–14 years, ages at which periods of school transition occur, whether in kindergarten, or the first year of elementary or high school. These periods might be particularly difficult for parents and deserve special attention. If psychological aggression is used instead of physical violence, as suggested by the results of this study and those of a previous one,19 it is important to teach parents alternative positive discipline strategies. Moreover, the fact that severe violence had remained stable in Quebec for the 13 years is disturbing, especially as the risk with respect to families’ socio-demographic profile has declined over the years. This prompts concerns about the ability of social services to reach the most vulnerable and the effectiveness of family policies to help parents in their role.» (p. 36)