Abstract

The study sought to find out the influence of parental socio-economic status onthe incidence of child abuse and neglect among primary school pupils in Aguataeducation zone of Anambra State. Three major attributes of socio-economicstatus (parents’ income, parents’ education and parents’ occupation) wereconsidered. The study adopted Ex-post facto research design. Three researchquestions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Sampleconsisted of 618 primary six pupils drawn from schools in Aguata educationzone through simple random sampling. The instrument used for data collectionwas parental socio-economic status and incidence of child abuse and neglectquestionnaire. The overall reliability coefficient of the instrument was found tobe 0.83. Data collected were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Thefinding of the study revealed that parents’ level of income significantlyinfluences the incidence of child abuse and neglect. It was also revealed thatparents’ level of education significantly influences the incidence of child abuseand neglect. Furthermore, it was discovered that parent’s occupationsignificantly influences the incidence of child abuse and neglect.The implications of the findings were discussed and appropriate suggestionsand recommendations were made..1CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTIONBackground of the StudyProcreation is a phenomenon that ensures the survival and continuity of anation. However, the rearing pattern of the children that are products of wedlockis a crucial task that is significant in determining the quality of citizens thatmake up a particular society. It is disappointing to note that juvenile cases andother social vices that characterized our society today are traceable to bad childpatterns of many homes. Children who have passed through such homes wereeither battered, abandoned, or abused in any other form. They wereconsequently toughened and eventually become liabilities to the communityrather than assets. In Nigeria today, the rate of child abuse and neglect haveassumed a worrisome and alarming proportion (Semenitani, 1998).Children are regarded as precious gifts from God. It is rather outrageousand unfortunate that these same children are subject to abuse and neglect. Childabuse and neglect is one of the most rampant societal malaise facing societiestoday. The ill-treatment of children by those who are supposed to care for themhas been recognized as a major problem in child upbringing in the society.Child abuse and neglect is a prevalent problem all over the world and Nigeria isno exception..2There is no commonly accepted definition of child abuse and neglect.Ohia, Soronnadi, Udemezue and Okonkwo, (2002) define child abuse andneglect;as a situation in which a child is suffering serious physicalinjury, which was not inflicted upon him by accident, but by adeliberate act or omission, is suffering harm by reason ofneglect, malnutrition or sexual abuse, is growing withoutnecessary and basic physical care, and is growing-up underconditions, which threaten his physical and emotionalsurvival (P. 3).According to Jones (1982), child abuse and neglect are seen as twoseparate phenomenons. He defines child abuse as inflicting serious physical,physiological and sexual injury on children through non accidental means,while child neglect on the other hand is defined as endangering physical, mentalor emotional condition of children through improper care. Crystal (1995)linking both child abuse and neglect, opined that child abuse may be physical,sexual, emotional or through neglect. National Child Rights ImplementationCommittee (NCRIC,1995) defines child abuse and neglect as any form ofcruelty to a child’s physical, moral or mental well-being. According to theDepartment of Justice, Canada (2001), the term child abuse refers to theviolence, maltreatment or neglect that a child or adolescent may experiencewhile in the care of someone they either trust or depend on, such as parents,siblings, other relatives caregivers or guardians.Public Health Agency of Canada (2003) divided child abuse and neglectinto five categories, namely: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse,

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