Prevalence and pattern of child abuse and associated factors in four secondary institutions in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria

In our society, child abuse is most often not recognized. In addition, little attention is focused on child abuse due to the menace of severe acute malnutrition and infections, which are the major pediatric problems in our setting. There is need therefore for public awareness of the existence of the various forms of child abuse in the society. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence, pattern, socioeconomic implication, and factors associated with child abuse among secondary school students attending four secondary schools in Enugu. This is a prospective study where cases of child abuse were investigated using a convenience sampling of students attending four secondary schools in Enugu. A total of 372 subjects participated in the study comprising 192 (51.6 %) females and 180 (48.4 %) males (chi (2) = 7.74, p = 0.38). Their median age was 15.0 (12-18) years. One hundred and sixty-six of 370 (44.8 %) made up of 85 (51.2 %) females and 81 (48.8 %) males reported that they had been hit repeatedly with an implement, showing no significant difference in the gender of respondents physically abused. Thirty-eight (10.2 %) respondents admitted that they have been forced or persuaded to have sexual experience against their wish as teenagers. A total of 58/346 (16.8 %) respondents admitted that they have been abused emotionally in one way or the other by either birth parents or other relatives who brought them up. Conclusions: Child abuse is a notable problem among secondary school students and adolescents, though this is highly underreported as seen in this study.