1735 – Kurdish medical students’ reports of child physical abuse in their families, psychological sequelae and other characteristics

Abstract

Physical abuse means the non-accidental infliction of physical injury on or physical mistreatment of a child. Incidence, forms and degree of child physical abuse vary greatly depending on many variables such as geographical area, general awareness, culture, religion, economic status and others factors. This study highlights occurrences of child physical abuses in Kurdish families from to medical students’ reports. To know the rate of phsycial abuse in Kurdish families and address the related characteristics. The total of 432 medical students in Kurdistan Region/Erbil/Iraq, anonymously answered a set questions about the occurrence of child abuse in their families, their attitudes and opinions towards the issue, the perpetrators and their motives, with physical, psychological, and low sequelae etc. Two-thirds of students believed that child physical abuse is a real concern in Kurdish families. One-thirds of students reported occurrence of child physical abuses sometime in their families. To them, most perpetrators of the abuse were from paternal more than maternal side; from other males, rather than other females in the extended family. And they were associated with subsequent adult victimization (both psychological and physical). Childhood physical abuse is relatively common in Kurdish families, and is associated with a wide variety of psychological symptoms. More emphasis on raising the public awareness about impact of child abuse is crucial, in terms of demonstrating its psychological consequences like building a more fragile adult personality, and a lot of other untoward consequences.