Physical Child Abuse Among Secondary School Students in A Community in Benue State
Elufidipe-Olumide, Happiness A.1, and Christian, Ngozi2
1Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
2Department of Science Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Abstract
The study aimed to examine occurrences of physical child abuse among secondary school students in a community in Benue State. The study utilized a cross-sectional research design to achieve its objectives. The data collection instrument used was the Physical Child Abuse Questionnaire (PCAQ). The study took place in Igumale, Ado Local Government Area of Benue State. The survey included 800 secondary school students from six secondary schools in Igumale. There were 300 respondents in the sample. Three experts from the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, face validated the instrument. The instrument’s reliability was determined by testing the Spearman’s rank order correlation formula, resulting in a reliability coefficient of .842. The data from PCAQ copies was encoded and analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM-SPSS) version 22 for Windows. The research questions were answered using frequencies and percentages. 58.7 per cent of secondary school children in Igumale experienced physical child abuse. 60.0 per cent of secondary school students aged 10-14 experienced physical abuse, which is higher than the 56.9% of students aged 15-19. The percentage of male secondary school students who encountered physical abuse (60.5%) is greater than the percentage of female students who experienced physical abuse (57.3%). The percentage of physical abuse among parents with no formal education is 59.6%, primary education is 52.6%, secondary education is 76.9%, and tertiary education is 49.2%. Therefore, parents with secondary education have the highest rate of physical abuse. The recommends greater investment in programmes that have shown effectiveness in averting abuse before it occurs.
Keywords: Physical child abuse, students, gender, parents & cross-sectional study
Impact Statement
The main aspect of my research is On Emotional and mental Health Education. With Special interest on Anxiety, Depression and Suicidal Ideation. These areas are important because globally a good number of people are going through emotional health problems needing urgent attention which can only be done via research findings.
About Author/s
Happiness A. Elufidipe-Olumide, Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education, University of Nigeria
Happiness A. Elufidipe-Olumide joined the academia in 2019, immediately after the Master’s degree program and will be rounding off Ph.D. in weeks with the help of God. Her area of specialty is Emotional and Mental Health Education with special interest in anxiety, depression and Suicidal ideation. She has written and published 7 articles as the first author in all with co-authors; 5 in Nigerian Journals and 1 in British Journal of Education, Learning and Development Psychology. She has been inspired and motivated by a presentation on Inner Strength from a workshop of ICERT. Currently she is preparing a presentation on Inner Strength hoping to impact the world through her works.
Ngozi Christian, Department of Science Education, University of Nigeria
Christian Ngozi is a researcher in the field of Social Science Education, Educational Management and Research Measurement and Evaluation. He has co-authored in a number of Journals, conference papers and Book chapter. He has computer and statistical skills in areas of Statistical Package for Social Sciences and has also developed proficiency in STATA software for data analysis.
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