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Coming of Age in the Shadow of the Taliban: Adolescents’ and Parents’ Views Toward Interpersonal Violence and Harmful Traditional Practices in Afghanistan

Objectives To understand Afghan adolescents’ and parents’ attitudes toward interpersonal violence. Methods We used a 2-stage sampling method in 6 provinces during 2016; we included 916 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years and 454 parents. Results In the abstract, a minority of adolescents or parents endorsed violence; however, specific situations justified most violence (e.g., husbands beating wives, parents hitting children). Both adolescents (48.0%) and parents (39.0%) thought a wife hitting her husband was least justifiable. Endorsement of violence justification did not appear to vary significantly on the basis of parental education or wealth. More fathers rejected all violence rationale than did mothers, and women were more likely to justify wife beating (75.0% vs 58.6%; P < .01), beating of daughters (78.5% vs 60.6%; P < .01), and teachers hitting students (62.9% vs 51.5%; P < .01). Of all respondents, 25% approved of threatening a child if he or she speaks out against harmful traditional practices. Conclusions Although it may be socially unacceptable to advocate physical aggression, most Afghans still find numerous conditions that justify it. Without deliberate violence reduction strategies, education alone is unlikely to reduce the high levels of interpersonal violence in Afghanistan.