Level of Knowledge About Child Neglect and Abuse: A University Sample

Aim: The assessment of how much nursing student knew about child neglect and abuse was set as the goal of this research. Materials and Methods: Two hundred and forty-seven nursing students at a university located in Istanbul province made up the sample of this descriptive research. The data collection tools were the Participant Information Form and the Diagnosis Scale of the Risks and Symptoms of Child Abuse and Neglect.Results: It was determined that 79.4% of the participants were female, 37.2% were first-year students, and 78.5% were from nuclear families. The average age was 19.80±1.19. It was found that 75.3% of the students had received education/information about child neglect and abuse during their undergraduate education, with 63.4% obtaining this information from the Internet, 48.4% from their faculty, and 43% from television. Female students had a significantly higher total score on the scale than males (t:2.456; p=0.015). Conclusion: The Internet was nursing students’ primary source of information on child abuse and neglect, and female students’ knowledge levels were higher than those of males.