Abstract
BackgroundChild maltreatment can cause significant physical and psychological problems. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and determinants of child maltreatment in Guangzhou, China, where such issues are often considered a taboo subject.MethodsA school-based survey was conducted in southern China in 2005. 24 high schools were selected using stratified random sampling strategy based on their districts and bandings. The self-administered validated Chinese version of parent-child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC) was used as the main assessment tool to measure the abusive experiences encountered by students in the previous six months.ResultsThe response rate of this survey was 99.7%. Among the 6592 responding students, the mean age was 14.68. Prevalence of parental psychological aggression, corporal punishment, severe and very serve physical maltreatment in the past 6 months were 78.3%, 23.2%, 15.1% and 2.8% respectively. The prevalence of sexual abuse is 0.6%. The most commonly cited reasons for maltreatment included 'disobedience to parents', 'poor academic performance', and 'quarrelling between parents'. Age, parental education, places of origins and types of housing were found to be associated with physical maltreatments whereas gender and fathers' education level were associated with sexual abuse.ConclusionThough largely unspoken, child maltreatment is a common problem in China. Identification of significant determinants in this study can provide valuable information for teachers and health professionals so as to pay special attention to those at-risk children.
Highlights
Child maltreatment can cause significant physical and psychological problems
Though largely unspoken, child maltreatment is a common problem in China
The majority of them (78.6%) were living in a property owned by the family, with the proportion of those living in rented accommodation representing the largest group (14.3%)
Summary
Child maltreatment can cause significant physical and psychological problems. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence and determinants of child maltreatment in Guangzhou, China, where such issues are often considered a taboo subject. One survey conducted in Hong Kong found that child abuse victims have a higher chance of psychiatric morbidity, more self-injurious behaviors, poorer perceived parental support and are more likely to have problems with substance abuse [5] Despite these findings, child maltreatment has remained a taboo and hidden subject in many Asian countries like China. In terms of sexual abuse, one school-based survey among adolescents in China found that the overall prevalence of unwanted sexual experience before their age of 16 years was 13.6%, in which the prevalence was higher among girls (16.7%) than boys (10.5%) [9] While another survey on college students in Hong Kong reported the rate of sexual abuse before the age of 17 as 6% [10]
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