Abstract
Aim: Our aim was to assess the prevalence and correlates of lifetime physical abuse among schoolchildren in Albania, a post-communist country in South Eastern Europe which is currently undergoing a rapid socioeconomic transition.Methods: The third wave of Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) in Albania was conducted in 2017–18 including a nationwide representative sample of 1,708 schoolchildren aged 15 years (54% girls; response rate: 95%). Children were asked to report on lifetime physical abuse and a wide range of socio-demographic factors, lifestyle factors and health status characteristics. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the independent association of lifetime physical abuse with covariates.Results: Overall, the prevalence of lifetime physical abuse was about 32% (30% in boys vs. 32% in girls). In multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models, independent positive correlates of lifetime physical abuse among Albanian schoolchildren included lifetime smoking (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1–2.2), lifetime alcohol consumption (OR = 1.6, 95%CI = 1.2–2.1), irritability (OR[dailyvs.rarely/never] = 2.0, 95%CI = 1.3–3.0), and especially lifetime witnessed domestic violence (OR = 4.2, 95%CI = 2.2–7.9). Conversely, a higher score on life satisfaction was inversely related to lifetime physical abuse (P < 0.01).Conclusion: Our study provides novel evidence about the magnitude and selected independent correlates of lifetime physical abuse among schoolchildren in Albania, a country still embedded in an everlasting transition which is associated with tremendous changes in family structure, community links and societal norms and values. Irrespective of a wide range of sociodemographic factors and health characteristics, lifetime smoking, alcohol consumption, irritability, a lower score on life satisfaction and, particularly, witnessed domestic violence were strong and significant correlates of lifetime physical abuse among Albanian schoolchildren aged 15 years.
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization (WHO): “Child maltreatment is defined as the abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age
The prevalence of lifetime physical abuse was considerably higher in children who reported lifetime smoking compared with those who had never smoked in their lives (48 vs. 27%, respectively; P < 0.01)
There was no association with lifetime sexual relationships, but a remarkably strong association between lifetime physical abuse and lifetime witnessing of domestic violence: 67% of children who reported witnessing domestic violence had been subject to physical abuse compared with only 30% of children who had never witnessed domestic violence in their lifetime (Table 1)
Summary
According to the World Health Organization (WHO): “Child maltreatment is defined as the abuse and neglect that occurs to children under 18 years of age. It includes all types of physical and/or emotional ill treatment, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence and commercial or other exploitation that results in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power” (1, 2). Conferring to a WHO landmark report, the estimated prevalence of child maltreatment ranges from 5 to 50% (3). Regarding the European region, according to a meta-analysis, the prevalence of physical abuse was estimated at about 23% (5). It has been reported that 850 European children
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