摘要：Objectives. We sought to assess the effects of witnessing violence against their mothers in childhood on men’s use of violence in a range of settings in adulthood. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 1368 randomly selected male municipal workers in Cape Town, South Africa. Results. Almost a quarter (23.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI]=21.2, 25.7) of the men reported witnessing abuse of their mother, and having witnessed such events was associated with men’s later involvement in physical conflicts in their community (odds ratio [OR]=1.72; 95% CI=1.29, 2.30) and at their place of work (OR = 1.83; 95% CI = 1.30, 2.58), use of physical violence against their partners (OR = 2.61; 95% CI = 1.94, 3.54), and arrest for possession of illegal firearms (OR=2.86; 95% CI=1.29, 6.32). Conclusions. Our results show strong links between “publicly” violent behavior among men and childhood experiences of “private” violence against their mothers. Prevention of domestic violence is essential both in its own right and as part of efforts to reduce broader violence and crime in society. South Africa experiences high levels of violent crime. Statistics collected by Interpol indicate that rates of rape, murder, robbery, and violent theft are higher than in any other Interpol member state. 1 Analyses of as-yet-unpublished data collected by the Medical Research Council in 2004 for the National Study of Female Homicide in South Africa indicate that the rate of homicides of women aged 14–29 years was 17.6 per 100 000. This rate is substantially higher than those for women aged 10–29 years in the World Report on Violence and Health; in that 76-country study, the highest rate, 11.9 per 100 000, was observed in Colombia. 2 The South Afri-can study showed that in 1999, 8.8 women per 100 000 aged 14 years or older were murdered by a current or ex-husband or boyfriend, 3 a rate 6 times higher than that in the United States 4 and Australia. 5 Research on intimate partner violence in South Africa has shown that 1 in 4 women in the general population have experienced physical violence 6 at some time in their lives, a rate comparable to rates reported in the United States (22%) 7 and Canada (29%). 8 Among women who attend antenatal clinics and young women aged 17–23 years, the prevalence doubles, 9 – 11 reaching levels observed in the general populations of countries with the highest rates, including Papua New Guinea (67%), Turkey (58%), Bangladesh (47%), and Ethiopia (45%). 12 Violence is a widely accepted means of resolving conflict in South African society. This acceptability has been contested by the government and civil society groups, and the government has enacted laws criminalizing intimate partner violence and corporal punishment in schools. Nonetheless, widespread use of violence in South Africa in many different circumstances suggests that, if not condoned legally, it is normative and generally accepted by communities. Violence is used as a form of punishment, an expression of anger, and a means of gaining and asserting power, and it can be observed in disputes between neighbors, 6 , 13 in disputes occurring in work-places14 and health care settings, 15 and in schools, where, even though it is now illegal, corporal punishment is still very common. 16 Research on violence committed against intimate partners has shown that many people, including women, regard such violence as acceptable if it does not injure or leave a mark. 17 In a survey conducted among female residents of 3 provinces in South Africa, more than a third of the respondents agreed that a man beating a woman was a sign of love. 6 In this regard, South Africa is similar to many patriarchal societies, in which men are traditionally regarded as having a right to inflict physical punishment on their wives. 2 In view of the high prevalence of intimate partner violence in South Africa, it is not surprising that much of this violence is witnessed by children in the home. Studies conducted in developed countries have shown that boys who experienced frequent episodes of parental conflict in early childhood are at greater risk of being violent themselves in adolescence and adulthood. 18 , 19 Witnessing of abuse is usually combined with other childhood experiences that negatively affect children’s emotional and social functioning, such as harsh discipline, lack of emotional support and affection, and poor parental supervision, all of which have been shown to be associated with subsequent violent behavior. 19 – 22 Young boys’ witnessing of abuse of their mothers, however, has been identified as the most consistent risk factor for engaging in intimate partner violence later in life. 23 – 27 Despite South Africa’s high prevalence of intimate partner violence, research on witnessing maternal abuse has not been conducted in South Africa, and further exploration is required to identify the pathways linking the witnessing of maternal abuse to subsequent violence. An opportunity to investigate this issue was provided by a study of men’s use of violence against their intimate female partners. Retrospective data were collected on witnessing abuse in childhood as well as current use of violence in adulthood. We explored the association between childhood exposure to domestic violence and South African men’s later use of violence in adulthood, including their use of violence in intimate relationships with women.
