Date of Award

12-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MS in Epidemiology & Biostatistics

First Advisor

Shelina Bhamani

Second Advisor

Iqbal Azam

Department

Community Health Sciences

Abstract

Introduction: Child abuse is a public health issue which involves physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The purpose of this study is to assess parents' knowledge and attitudes regarding child abuse and to determine the factors associated with it.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan between July to August 2023. Parents with children aged 2- 5 years were included in the study. Parents with psychological issues and with psychologically ill children were excluded. A total of 247 parents were recruited through non-probability purposive sampling and written informed consent was taken. A pre-tested and content-validated questionnaire was used. Data was analyzed using Stata version 15 and multiple linear regression was used to identify the demographic, family and parenting characteristics associated with knowledge and attitude regarding child abuse.
Results: Among 257 parents, 57.49% were mothers with a mean age of 32.48±5.54. 75% of parents were highly educated. More than half of the parents were not aware of child abuse reporting measures. Parents' knowledge of child abuse was associated with the family structure, their perceived parenting style, their understanding of child abuse reporting procedures, and the interaction between Parents’ age and parental education. The estimated mean knowledge score of child abuse decreased by 0.48 (95% C.I.: -1.0, -0.01) for every 1-year increase in the age of parents if parents had secondary education compared to postgraduation when adjusted for other variables in the model. Parents' attitude scores against child abuse were associated with the total number of children, parental educational levels, the gender of the parent, the distribution of children aged 2-5 years, and the interaction between the family system and perceived parenting style. The estimated mean attitude score against child abuse decreased by 3.17(95%C.I.: -6.58, 0.25) for mixed parenting style and joint family compared to nuclear and not-strict parenting style when adjusted for other variables in the model.
Conclusion: and Recommendation: There is a significant lack of awareness about child abuse reporting measures and a moderate attitude towards the prevention of child abuse was reported. Hence, it is important to create awareness of child abuse and to provide positive parenting training.

First Page

1

Last Page

45

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