Dickson Kwamena Sekyi, Ameyaw Edward Kwabena, Adde Kenneth Setorwu, Paintsil Jones Arkoh, Yaya Sanni
Department of Population and Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.
Institute of Policy Studies and School of Graduate Studies, Lingnan University, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong.
PLoS One. 2024 Jul 17;19(7):e0305778. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305778. eCollection 2024.
Child abuse is a dominant public health concern that permeates race, varied social contexts and culture. Child abuse comprises any act of omission or commission perpetrated by a child's parent, caregiver, or other adult leading to harm, potential for, or any threat of harm to a child (below age 18), either intentional or unintentional. This subject has usually been explored by focusing on men. This study investigated the prevalence and social correlates of child abuse across seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Data was obtained from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) conducted in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa between 2013 and 2020. The outcome variable employed for this study was acts of child abuse (including shouting, striking, and slapping). Descriptive and inferential analyses were carried out. The descriptive analysis focused on the bivariate analysis between the country variable and the outcome variables. Multivariate analysis was, however, utilized to determine the relationship between the outcome variables and the respondents' explanatory variables, using a binary logistic regression model. The adjusted odds ratios for each variable were calculated using a 95% confidence range.
The proportion of women shouting at children was 72 percent. This ranged from 49.2 percent in Chad to 84.2 percent in Benin. The proportion of women striking children was 52.5 percent and this ranged from 37.1 percent in Chad to 63.8 percent in Benin. The odds of women striking their children was higher for those with children aged 10-14 (aOR = 1.18, CI = 1.03, 1.34), women with primary education (aOR = 1.25, CI = 1.17, 1.33), cohabiting women (aOR = 1.17, CI = 1.10, 1.25) and women who had experienced intimate partner violence (aOR = 1.06, CI = 1.00, 1.12). The odds of women shouting at their children was higher for those aged 30-34 years (aOR = 1.31, CI = 1.11, 1.55) and for working women (aOR = 1.43, 1.33, 1.56). The odds of women slapping their children was higher for those who justify wife-beating (aOR = 1.10, CI = 1.03, 1.16) and for women with richest wealth status (aOR = 1.25, CI = 1.17, 1.33).
The findings show that it is imperative for the governments of the countries studied, especially those with high prevalence like Benin, to consider parent-friendly and culturally acceptable non-formal educational initiatives that will dissuade parents and guardians from abusing children. Possibly, legal reforms that sanction harsher punishments to perpetrators of child abuse may help make child abuse less attractive to parents and guardians.
虐待儿童是一个主要的公共卫生问题，它渗透于不同种族、社会背景和文化之中。虐待儿童包括儿童的父母、照料者或其他成年人实施的任何作为或不作为行为，导致对儿童（18岁以下）造成伤害、有潜在伤害可能或任何伤害威胁，无论其是故意还是无意的。以往该主题的研究通常聚焦于男性。本研究调查了撒哈拉以南非洲七个国家虐待儿童的患病率及其社会关联因素。
数据来自2013年至2020年在撒哈拉以南非洲七个国家开展的人口与健康调查（DHS）。本研究采用的结果变量是虐待儿童行为（包括叫嚷、殴打和扇耳光）。进行了描述性分析和推断性分析。描述性分析侧重于国家变量与结果变量之间的双变量分析。然而，多变量分析采用二元逻辑回归模型来确定结果变量与受访者解释变量之间的关系。使用95%置信区间计算每个变量的调整比值比。
对孩子叫嚷的女性比例为72%。这一比例在乍得为49.2%，在贝宁为84.2%。殴打孩子的女性比例为52.5%，在乍得为37.1%，在贝宁为63.8%。对于有10 - 14岁孩子的女性（调整后比值比 = 1.18，置信区间 = 1.03，1.34）、接受过小学教育的女性（调整后比值比 = 1.25，置信区间 = 1.17，1.33）、同居女性（调整后比值比 = 1.17，置信区间 = 1.10，1.25）以及曾遭受亲密伴侣暴力的女性（调整后比值比 = 1.06，置信区间 = 1.00，1.12），她们殴打孩子的几率更高。对于30 - 34岁的女性（调整后比值比 = 1.31，置信区间 = 1.11，1.55）以及职业女性（调整后比值比 = 1.43，1.33，1.56），她们对孩子叫嚷的几率更高。对于认同殴打妻子行为的女性（调整后比值比 = 1.10，置信区间 = 1.03，1.16）以及最富有阶层的女性（调整后比值比 = 1.25，置信区间 = 1.17，1.33），她们扇孩子耳光的几率更高。
研究结果表明，对于所研究国家的政府而言，尤其是像贝宁这种患病率高的国家，必须考虑采取对家长友好且文化上可接受的非正规教育举措，以劝阻父母和监护人不要虐待儿童。或许，对虐待儿童者实施更严厉惩罚的法律改革可能有助于使虐待儿童行为对父母和监护人的吸引力降低。
