Child abuse: Sivas (Turkey) sample

Abstract

Subject of this study is family violence among primary school students. The purpose is to determine to what level socio-cultural, economical, psychological and communicative characteristics of the family affect the experience of violent acts on the child.

Method: Universe of the study consists of second phase (junior high) students of grades VI, VII, and VIII in 70 primary schools in the city center of Sivas. When creating the sample, schools were divided into three groups as low, middle and high according to the socio-economical and cultural levels of the neighborhoods they were located in, and total fifteen schools were selected, three from each area, with characteristics suitable to represent the respective areas. Number of students included in the sample from these schools is 655. Study data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of items directed at determining the socio-demographic characteristics of the students, structures of families, quality of family relationships and presence or absence family violence against the child and relations and factors that might create the potential for violence.

Findings: Proportion of children within the sample that were found treated with violence by their mothers was found as 54%, and proportion of children within the sample that were found treated with violence by their fathers was found as 46%. According to results of the regression analysis performed separately for mothers and fathers with the purpose of finding the variables with the greatest effect on being treated with violence of children by their parents and the level of effect of these variables, it was found that the variables influencing with statistically significant levels students’ experiences of violence from their mothers were educational status of the mother, presence of violence between mother and father and mode of treatment of the mother against the child, respectively.

According to the results of the logistic regression analysis performed in relation with students’ experiences of violence from their fathers (Table 109), it was found that the variables influencing with statistically significant levels students’ experiences of violence from their fathers were gender of the student, presence of violence between mother and father and mode of treatment of the father against the child, respectively.