Prevalence and pattern of child maltreatment at home among secondary school students in Ibadan North Local Government, Oyo State, Nigeria

Background

Child maltreatment is an action that endangers a child's health or survival and is often committed by individuals in positions of responsibility, trust, or power. The extent of maltreatment among secondary school students in developing countries, including Nigeria, requires further exploration, and evaluating this burden can inform preventive interventions.

Objective

The study aimed to evaluate the prevalence, pattern and factors associated with maltreatment at home among secondary school students in Ibadan North LGA, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Participants and setting

A cross-sectional study including 422 students in secondary school was conducted in randomly selected secondary schools in Ibadan North LGA, Nigeria using a multistage-sampling procedure to select students.

Methods

The study used a pre-tested, semi-structured, questionnaire administered by the interviewer, incorporating questions on sociodemographic and the child home version of the ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool (ICAST-CH). Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test, done by setting the significance level at 5 %.

Results

Respondents had a mean age of 13.9 ± 1.8 years, with 52.1 % being female and 69.5 % living with their parents. More than a quarter (26.8 %) of the respondents experienced all forms of maltreatment, with emotional and physical maltreatment rates at 85.3 % and 81.8 %, respectively, and neglect and sexual maltreatment at 47.4 % and 55.9 %. Age, school type, Parental education, and living arrangements were significantly associated with experience of all forms of maltreatment.

Conclusions

All child maltreatment forms were significantly present among the students. Measures like engaging parents/guardians through parenting programs and sensitization efforts are crucial in reducing the occurrence of maltreatment.