Frequency of child abuse and some related factors in 2-5 years children attending health centers of Ahvaz and Haftgel in 2011

Abstract

Background: Children are the most vulnerable groups in society. Although exact information about prevalence of child isnt available but short and long- term consequences of child abuse and child neglect have been documented in many studies. Material and methods: In a descriptive-analytic study 956 children 2-5 years attending health centers of Ahvaz and Haftgel cities were studied in 2010. A questionnaire was used for data collection. SPSS (version 17), frequency tables, chi-square test and logistic regression were used for data entering & analysis. Results: Overall 67.5% (645 cases) of children experienced physical punishment. Prevalence of psychological violence was 70%. Physical violence in the cities of Ahvaz and Haftgel was 67.6% and 67.7% respectively. The highest prevalence of physical and psychological violence was estimated in Arab women and illiterate mothers.