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Intrafamily Violence: A Study on Vulnerability and Resilience

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Vulnerable Children and Youth in Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this chapter was to discuss the processes of vulnerability and resilience present in a family in situations of violence. This case study was carried out with a family living in a risk area of a large city in Brazil, where poverty and crime were present, with a strong influence of drug trafficking in the community. The case study was conducted with a reconstructed family composed of the mother, her son, and the stepfather. The data was collected using the ecological engagement of the researchers in the community, including domiciliary visits and interviews with family members. The analysis demonstrated, initially, the individual and familiar vulnerability revealed by violence in mother-son relationship and the effect of protective factors, such as the stepfather influence in the family and his mediation in mother-son relationship to minimize the violence. It contributed to strengthen the resilience in the family. This study is an exemplar of how research can contribute to public policies, as translation from identification of family dynamics to the proposal of strategies to prevent violence and to promote health interactions in at-risk families in Brazil.

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Correspondence to Alessandra Marques Cecconello .

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Cecconello, A.M., Koller, S.H. (2017). Intrafamily Violence: A Study on Vulnerability and Resilience. In: Dell'Aglio, D., Koller, S. (eds) Vulnerable Children and Youth in Brazil . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65033-3_2

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