Riesgos psicosociales considerados por jueces de familia en decisiones sobre pérdida de patria potestad: Estudio exploratorio / Psychosocial risks considered by family judges in decisions on loss of parental authority: An exploratory study

La investigación realizada tuvo como objetivo identificar riesgos psicosociales considerados por jueces en decisiones sobre pérdida de la patria potestad. El tipo y diseño de la investigación fue cualitativo. Las fuentes de información eran dos: (1) se preseleccionaron 50 documentos judiciales en las siguientes ciudades de Colombia: Bogotá, Tunja y Duitama y (2) se hizo una entrevista grupal con ocho jueces. Los documentos fueron analizados con un protocolo y para diseñarlo, se determinaron categorías orientadas por los objetivos y sustento teórico. La entrevista consistió en un grupo focal. El audio de la entrevista se transcribió literalmente y se realizó un análisis categorial inductivo. Los hallazgos indican que en la mayor parte de casos, la causal más común corresponde al abandono. Allí se identifica más un interés por viajar con el niño fuera del país sin tener que pedir permiso al progenitor demandado. Igualmente se observa que poco se tiene en cuenta la interdisciplinariedad y el interés superior del menor dentro de las decisiones. En el momento de tomar la decisión los jueces utilizan más la lógica silogística que la realista. Empero, en la discusión generada dentro del contexto de la entrevista grupal, anteponen la experiencia profesional y posiblemente vivencias propias para describir las situaciones evaluadas (lógica realista). De la misma manera, reconocen riesgos psicosociales que no quedan expuestos en el documento judicial. Finalmente, se encuentra la necesidad de evaluar más detalladamente la historia relacional de la pareja parental, ya que suelen existir secuelas psicológicas que afectan las competencias parentales.

Suspension of custody as a right of the child may lead to psychosocial risks considered as potential dangers to the well-being of the child, his family or his community in various dimensions. It is therefore important to consider the possibility of these psychosocial risks when making these judicial decisions about the loss of parental rights. The phenomenon of psychosocial risk has been more studied in working environments and also linked to health problems. This fact assigns a new connotation to this study, since it opens the door to the interdisciplinarity from Psychology and Law, when investigating if the psychosocial risks in the judicial decisions on loss of parental authority are taken into account. The research aims to identify psychosocial risks considered by family judges in decisions about loss of custody. The type and design research is qualitative, since one of its general pretensions is the understanding. The sources of information are two. The first corresponds to 50 pre-selected court documents in the Colombian cities of Bogota, Tunja and Duitama. The other is a group interview with 8 family judges. The documents were analyzed by means of a protocol. For the design and implementation of the protocol, categories oriented by interdisciplinary research team objectives, theoretical support and expectations were made. The interview consisted of a focus group interview with family judges (four men and four women). The audio of the interview was transcribed literally and an inductive categorical analysis was made. Results of the analysis of the interview and documents were contrasted. Judicial documents reviewed show that judges use syllogistic logic when seeking to accommodate situations to the causal. Within the judicial decisions it is observed that the best interest of the minor is not privileged. The analysis of the interview in which the use of experience and intuition is observed following a realistic logic, invites us to reflect on aspects such as: the subjectivity of udges in the evaluation, the pressure they face on the number of lawsuits and the speed of judgment, and the need to revise the causal deprivation of liberty superior to one year. The judges manifest a deficit in the interdisciplinary work and the lack of more training in aspects of mental health that would make possible the use of psychological reports and the greater understanding of causes such as disability. It was possible to identify a pattern that leads to the decision of loss of custody power by abandonment (most common causal): (1) Search for legal advice. (2) To promote the notoriety of the physical and emotional distance between the defendant and the child. (3) Establish the claim. (4) Accumulate evidential evidence on the causal. (5) Obtain witnesses. In the discussion generated in the group interview, judges recognize psychosocial risks that are not exposed in the court document or sentence. Finally there is the need to assess in more detail the relational history of the parental couple, as they tend to be psychological consequences that affect parenting skills. The discussion between the researchers of Family Psychology and those of Family Law appear questions that build an interdisciplinary bridge. One limitation of the study was that it was not possible to have sufficient time and resources to conduct group and individual interviews with a greater number of family judges in other cities of the country and achieve more generalizable results. The research question on whether judges take into account the risks to make the decisions is answered that it attends to the grounds provided in the law taking the decision guided by the syllogistic logic. Causals can be equated with psychosocial risks.

El devenir de la Representación Política de los Niños y las Niñas / The evolution of the child’s political representation

El artículo realiza un seguimiento histórico de las formas como se ha considerado al niño desde el mundo clásico griego a la condición de ciudadano pleno, capaz de interpelar el mundo adulto. Este recorrido pasa por las concepciones medievales a la modernidad que no reconocen al niño como sujeto de derechos, y lo confinan al espacio privado sin más opción que ser propiedad del padre. Los argumentos esgrimidos lo signaron como incapaz y merecedor de una intervención paternalista de la familia y del Estado. El camino concluye con los planteamientos contemporáneos de la necesidad de asumir al niño como un ciudadano pleno.

The article makes a historical follow-up of the ways how the child has been regarded from the classical Greek world to the condition of a full citizen capable of questioning the adult world. This tour goes through the medieval conceptions and modernity that do not recognize the child as a subject entitled to rights and confine them to the private space with the sole choice of being their parents’ property. The arguments wielded marked them as incapable, deserving the paternalistic intervention of the family and the State. The route ends with the contemporary approaches about the need to assume the child as a full citizen.

Positive parenting by parents of children up to three years of age: development and validation of measurement scales / Exercício da parentalidade positiva pelos pais de crianças até três anos: construção e validação de escalas de medida / Ejercicio parental positivo por los padres de niños hasta tres años: construcción y validación de escalas de medición

This study aimed to describe the development and validation of three multidimensional scales in which the same 30 items, distributed among five dimensions, measure parents' self-perceived confidence, difficulties and knowledge needs in the exercise of positive parenting during the first three years of the child's life. The content of the scales resulted from the literature and exploratory studies and was validated by experts. The analysis of its reliability and validity, using Pearson's correlations and Cronbach's alpha, was based on data from a questionnaire administered to a non-probabilistic sample of 1011 parents. In the dimensions and items, α-values ranged between 0.769 and 0.890 and r-coefficients were >0.37;p <0.01. It was concluded that the scales measure three variables that correspond to the practice of positive parenting and their use permits guiding nursing support.

Os objetivos deste estudo foram descrever a construção e obtenção de algumas evidências de validade de três escalas multidimensionais em que os mesmos 30 itens, distribuídos por cinco dimensões, medem a autoperceção da confiança, das dificuldades e da necessidade de conhecimentos dos pais no exercício da parentalidade positiva, nos primeiros três anos da criança. O conteúdo das escalas resultou da literatura e de estudos exploratórios e foi validado por peritos. A análise da sua fidedignidade e validade, por meio de correlações de Pearson e coeficiente alfa de Cronbach, partiu dos resultados de um questionário aplicado a uma amostra não probabilística de 1.011 pais. Nas dimensões e itens, os valores de α situaram-se entre 0,769 e 0,890 e os de r foram >0,37; p<0,01. Concluiu-se que as escalas medem três variáveis que operacionalizam o exercício da parentalidade positiva, e a sua utilização permite direcionar o apoio de enfermagem.

Este estudio tuvo el objetivo de describir la construcción y validación de tres escalas multidimensionales en que los mismos 30 ítems, distribuidos en 5 dimensiones, miden la auto-percepción de la confianza, de las dificultades y de la necesidad de conocimientos de los padres en el ejercicio parental positivo en los primeros tres años del niño. El contenido de las escalas resultó de la literatura y de estudios de explotación y fue validado por expertos. El análisis de su fidelidad y validez partió de los resultados de un cuestionario aplicado la una muestra no probabilística de 1011 padres. En las dimensiones e ítems, los valores de Coeficiente Alfa de Cronbach se situaron entre 0,769 y 0,890 y los de fueron >0,37; p<0,01. Se concluyó que las escalas miden tres variables que hacen operacional el ejercicio parental positivo y su utilización permite direccionar el apoyo de enfermería.

Dimensions of child punishment in two Central American countries: Guatemala and El Salvador / Dimensiones del castigo infantil en dos países de América Central: Guatemala y El Salvador

OBJECTIVE: Severe physical punishment of children is an important issue in international child health and welfare. This study examines such punishment in Guatemala and El Salvador. METHODS: Data came from nationally representative surveys of women aged 15-49 and men aged 15-59 residing in Guatemala (2002) and El Salvador (2002-2003). The surveys included questions about punishment experienced during childhood, with response options ranging from verbal scolding to beating. In Guatemala, parents were asked how they disciplined their children; questions allowed them to compare how they were punished in their childhood with how they punished their own children. Bivariate and multivariate analyses are presented. RESULTS: In Guatemala, 35 percent of women and 46 percent of men reported being beaten as punishment in childhood; in El Salvador, the figures were 42 percent and 62 percent, respectively. In both countries, older participants were relatively more likely than younger participants to have been beaten as children. Witnessing familial violence was associated with an increased risk of being beaten in childhood. In Guatemala, having experienced physical punishment as a child increased the chance that parents would use physical punishment on their own children. Multivariate analyses revealed that women who were beaten in childhood were significantly more likely in both countries to be in a violent relationship. CONCLUSIONS: The use of beating to physically punish children is a common problem in Guatemala and El Salvador, with generational and intergenerational effects. Its negative and lingering effects necessitate the introduction of policies and programs to decrease this behavior.

OBJETIVOS: El castigo físico severo de niños es un tema importante de la salud y el bienestar infantil en el mundo. En el presente estudio se analiza este tipo de castigo en Guatemala y El Salvador. MÉTODOS: Se tomaron los datos de encuestas representativas nacionales realizadas a mujeres de 14 a 59 años y hombres de 15 a 59 años que residían en Guatemala (2002) y El Salvador (2002-2003). Las encuestas contenían preguntas sobre los castigos que sufrieron en su niñez, con posibilidades de respuesta que iban desde regaños verbales hasta golpizas. En Guatemala se preguntó a los padres cómo disciplinaban a sus hijos; las preguntas les permitían comparar cómo ellos eran castigados en su niñez y cómo ellos castigaban a sus hijos. Se presentan los resultados de los análisis bifactorial y multifactorial. RESULTADOS: En Guatemala, 35 por ciento de las mujeres y 46 por ciento de los hombres informaron haber sido golpeados como castigo durante su niñez; en El Salvador, las cifras fueron 42 por ciento y 62 por ciento, respectivamente. En ambos países, los encuestados más viejos tenían una mayor probabilidad de haber sido golpeados en su niñez que los encuestados más jóvenes. Haber presenciado violencia familiar se asoció con un incremento en el riesgo de recibir golpizas durante la niñez. En Guatemala, haber recibido castigos físicos durante la niñez aumentó la probabilidad de que como padres aplicaran castigos físicos a sus hijos. El análisis multifactorial reveló que las mujeres de ambos países golpeadas durante su niñez tenían significativamente más probabilidades de encontrarse en una relación violenta. CONCLUSIONES: El uso de golpes para castigar físicamente a niños es un problema frecuente en Guatemala y El Salvador, con efectos generacionales e intergeneracionales. Sus efectos prolongados y negativos requieren de la aplicación de políticas y programas que permitan reducir este comportamiento.