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"Family and Social Intervention” is a research unit of the University of Valencia directed by Professor Enrique Gracia. It focuses on a wide range of themes and social issues in order to provide scientific evidence to inform psychosocial intervention aimed at social problems and at promoting welfare and life quality.
The main areas of work of this research unit are the following:

  • Family socialisation processes, in particular educational practices and family socialisation styles and their influence on the psychosocial adjustment of children, as well as the influence of socially disadvantaged environments in family processes. Within the study on family interaction, we can highlight the study on corporal punishment and child abuse, with particular attention to environmental risk factors.
  • Another important research area in this unit is the analysis of the processes of support and social integration in various groups (e.g., immigrants, families, abusers, the elderly), with special attention to the processes of social disorder in neighbourhoods and their relation with violence.
  • Violence against women in romantic relationships is another area of central work in this research unit. The study of perceptions and attitudes are prominent in this field, as well as the professional groups directly related to this social problem (e.g., police). Moreover, Professor Marisol Lila, from this research unit, runs in coordination with the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions (Ministry for Home Affairs) the "Programa Contexto" (Context Programme), a research, training and intervention programme for men punished for violence against women. As of today, more than 400 prisoners have participated, and 70 of them have been trained as professionals under this programme.
  • Finally, Professor Enrique Gracia is Editor of the journal Psychosocial Intervention. This publication, a reference in its field, has an editorial board composed of experts in the field of social intervention from eleven countries on four continents.

For more information about this research unit, visit the following websites: