Domestic Violence and its Relationship with Quality of Life in Iranian Women of Reproductive Age

Violence against women is a major concern for public health. This study was conducted in Tabriz (Iran) to investigate domestic violence and its relationship with quality of life in women of reproductive age. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 558 women selected through a two-stage cluster sampling method. Data were collected by Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) and Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaires. Negotiation-emotional violence had the highest prevalence (93 %) and severe injury (12 %) had the lowest. There was a significant inverse correlation between chronicity of psychological, physical, sexual and injury domains of domestic violence and quality of life and a significant positive correlation between negotiation-emotional domain and quality of life. There is a significant relationship between domestic violence and quality of life. So, regarding the importance of empowering women and improving their quality of life, we must help eliminate violence against women.     

Mothers’ Attitudes Toward Corporal Punishment of Children in Qazvin-Iran

The aim of this study was to assess mothers’ attitudes toward Corporal Punishment (CP) of children in Iran. A qualitative study was carried out using focus group discussions. Five sessions were held among 42 participants (30 mothers and 12 caregivers). Results indicated that 80% of participants used CP to bring up their children; 70 % did not know the meaning, predisposing factors, and manifestations of child abuse, and more than 50 % did not know the complications resulting from CP and the ways of preventing. Their attitude toward CP was that the use of CP was sometimes necessary to bring up their children while their information about predisposing factors and complications of child abuse might be minimal. The findings have been used in providing an educational package with the topics of parenting skills in order to decrease child abuse that has been resulted by parents.     

Self-employment earnings and returns to education in rural Peru

This article estimates the returns to education for households who derive part of their income from household based non-farm self-employment ventures in rural Peru. While education is an individual level variable, earnings are observed at the household level. This asymmetry complicates both the estimation and the interpretation of the returns to education. This article is the first jointly to incorporate three channels through which education affects household earnings. Education affects earnings through the marginal productivity of labour (worker effect), labour allocation across activities (between-activity allocative effect) and its production externality effect (spillover effect). The results suggest that the between-activity allocative effects of education dominate the returns. This article also makes novel use of economic geography to proxy for the role that access to markets plays in determining these returns. In particular, altitude is a strong predictor of activity choice and the returns to education in this mountainous country.     

Book reviews and notes

Constructing Europe: the Role of Symbolic Policies

Substance and symbolism : an anatomy of cooperation in the new Europe / Ian Manners. ‐ Aldershot [etc.] : Ashgate, c2000. ‐ x, 289p.