Prevalence and determinants of caregivers’ self‐reported child abuse among children aged 3–6 years in the south of Iran

Abstract

AbstractChild abuse is a problem that needs to be addressed worldwide. This is a cross‐sectional study to estimate the prevalence of child abuse among children aged 3 to 6 years and its associated factors in southern Iran. In total, 5142 participants were selected using multi‐stage random sampling. The estimated prevalence rates of neglect and physical and verbal/emotional abuse among children were 26.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.2–27.6), 59.4% (95% CI 58.1–60.6), and 63.9% (95% CI 62.6–65.1), respectively. The results of logistic regression models showed that the child's sex was associated with physical abuse (odds ratio [OR]boy/girl 1.25; 95% CI1.11–1.41) and verbal abuse (ORboy/girl 1.17; 95% CI 1.04–1.32). However, parents living together was inversely associated with physical abuse (OR 0.45; 95% CI 0.25–0.80), verbal abuse (ORboy/girl 0.46; 95% CI 0.25–0.84), and neglect (ORboy/girl 0.53; 95% CI 0.31–0.88). Mother's education (ORuniversity degree/illiterate 0.58; 95% CI 0.35–0.98) was also inversely associated with physical abuse. The prevalence of child abuse in southern Iran is significantly higher than in several other countries in the region and other parts of the world. Social and family factors, including mother's education and parents living together, are important in reducing child abuse and its related mental and physical disorders during childhood. It is essential to train parents of young children about abuse and its negative effects on the health and social performance of children.