Attitudes, knowledge, myths and false beliefs of adolescents faced with of gender violence.

Abstract

In the present work, knowledge, attitudes, thoughts –myths and false beliefs– and behaviors for a sample of young people faced with gender violence into the couple relationships are analyzed. The study is based on analyzing and comparing two groups of adolescents. On the one hand, students belonging to standardized educational centers and, on the other, young people considered at risk of social exclusion, since they are in a juvenile reclusion center. We want to check if there are differences between them and how the risk factors to which this last group is exposed can influence on them. Specifically, we have studied their attitudes –of tolerance and/or refusal–, behaviors, the degree of assimilation of both the myths and the false beliefs, as well as the awareness of young people both when performing different practices in the social networks and considering the importance of the media when internalizing gender roles. For this purpose, a questionnaire of 28 items, developed by the authors, was used. The sample consisted of 119 individuals aged between 13 and 18 years. Of which, 61 adolescents (49,18% girls and 50,82% boys) with an average age of 15,5 year belonged to standardized educational centers and 58 (51,72% girls and 48,28% boys) belonged to a juvenile reclusion center, having an average age of 15,8 year. After analyzing, grouping, contrasting and interpreting the data, and based on the results obtained, we conclude that the significant number of projects implemented to fight gender violence are either not enough or not fully effective, since both groups of adolescents studied do not seem to have enough knowledge to change their perception and their way of acting in the face of this scourge.