Education and Awareness of child abuse among parents and adults
Farha Nabeel
University of Illinois at Chicago
PSCH 331, Amanda Roy
03/05/2023
Abstract
The study focuses on indicators of child maltreatment, and if these indicators would be considered signs of abuse for parents and adults alike. Another aspect of the study includes reporting of child abuse, if the adult chooses to report the abuse. The sample population of the study was chosen in Chicago, through friends, family, and students. This added to a total of twenty-two people who took the survey. The findings were as expected, where most adults could correctly identify major signs of child abuse, however they did not know who to report abuse to, or even what their next steps would be. An important finding in this study was that one hundred percent of the adults who took this survey, answered that they require more education on the subject. This means that the lack of education is the leading factor as to why adults feel that they cannot report abuse. The finding on education is especially important, since most adults have access to computers, have jobs, or have gone through the educational system. There can be a better approach in educating adults on the matter of child abuse and reporting.
Introduction
First Section
Childhood abuse plays a crucial role in developing a child and their relationships with others, which will also develop what kinds of adults they will turn out to be (Collins et. al, 2023). The big picture problem is with the adults in the lives of a child who experiences maltreatment. Maltreatment can be experienced in any form; emotional, mental, psychological, physical, and/or sexual. The purpose of this study is to see how much knowledge adults have about the signs that could indicate a child is being abused, and if so, how they go about seeking out help. Existing research shows the behavioral changes a child could show, which could serve as a gap since behavioral changes could indicate a large variety of issues, and is limited to mostly healthcare professionals. However, studying adults’ knowledge in different indications a child could show, may expand further on existing research, taking into account cultural backgrounds.
Second Section
Existing literature acknowledges that cultural stigma plays an important role in addressing child abuse. One research studied an Emergency Department in Pakistan, which aimed to address how healthcare professionals (HCP) identified and treated signs of child abuse that presented in their department (Maul et. al, 2019). Particularly, testing the knowledge and experiences of the professionals in the hospital, and if this is adequate for in-hospital child protection service. This is relevant because the research explores cultural and social stigma in a Pakistani community, with regard to child abuse.
Further, another research article addressed how nurses and physicians of a hospital, in America, rated their own ability to identify child abuse while also caring for them, and what qualified as a suspicion for them. The questions were administered through an anonymous questionnaire for the healthcare professionals to fill out and send back to researchers. An important key finding in this research, was that in theory the healthcare professionals would be able to identify certain indications, yet would not take any direct action out of fear of offending the family and face professional consequences (Paavilainen et. al, 2002).
In separate research conducted, the aim was to identify how abuse impacts children and what symptoms accompany different forms of abuse. Mostly, the research was focused on the behavioral changes seen in children and data was collected from the years 2004 and 2010. The constructs were measured using a Child Behavior Checklist, University of California, Los Angeles PTSD Reaction Index, and 27 diagnostic and CDS-specific clinical severity indicators. A key finding of this research was that childhood traumatic stress was linked to associated problems in child mental health and functioning (Spinazzola, et. al 2014).Therefore, the big takeaway would be that negative childhood exposure could lead to symptoms and disorders seen in children.
Another research was determined to address the effectiveness of providing web-based information about child maltreatment to students. The sample was chosen from students in a university, undergraduate and graduate students. The researchers provided students with a pre-test which was taken before a self-paced tutorial and online training for recognizing child maltreatment. Once the training was complete, students took a post-test which demonstrated their knowledge after training. The key finding in this research was that the participants rated their knowledge on child maltreatment higher after the tutorial, and indicated a lack of knowledge on reporting child abuse (Kenny, 2007).
The Current Study
The study will address gaps in the literature such as measuring parents’ and adults’ knowledge on indications of child abuse and how they go about reporting suspected abuse. The study is not limited to healthcare professionals, rather takes into account adults who care for children, interact with them due to work, or just simply are parents. A sample of adults will complete an online survey that will be sent to them via text message or email. The two research questions that will be addressed are; (1) what signs are clear indicators of child abuse for adults?, and (2) if they choose to report suspected abuse, how would they do so? I hypothesize the following; (1) adults will be able to identify most signs of abuse and (2) will choose not to report.
METHODS
Sample
The data will be collected from twenty-two adults. The criteria to be able to take this survey will be that the person is over 18 years of age. If the person is not, it will skip to the end of the survey. There are no other restrictions to take the survey.
Procedures
The research was carried out in Chicago. Data was collected from adults who were invited to take an online survey. The participants were invited via text message and email through the researcher’s network of friends and family to take survey.
Researcher Positionality
As the researcher, I am an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I have known people who have experienced abuse, which in part motivates my interest in this topic. Growing up in a particularly male dominated, Indian culture, speaking on any kind of abuse was seen as shameful. These specific lens’ of life experiences will shape how I will interpret my findings.
Measures
Indicators of child abuse
The survey includes twelve questions that are specific to indications of abuse only. This section is for the adult to answer yes or no, if they believe the question is a clear indication for them. An example of a question would be: The child is lying constantly, to which the person taking the survey would answer either yes or no.
Reporting suspected abuse
The survey includes seven questions with regards to how an adult, if they choose to report suspected abuse, would go about reporting it. An example of a question in this construct would be: How likely are you to report suspected abuse? Response scales vary from question to question such as using a Likert scale, and choosing answers for which include options that are Select all that apply.
Results
Table 1:
| Variable -question | Mean percent yes no | Min-max 0 no 1 yes |
| Child is not socializing | 61.1%- Yes 38.9%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| Having too many friends or socializing excessively | 72.2%-Yes 27.8%-N0 | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| Having many romantic partners | 61.1%-Yes 38.9%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| The child is lying constantly | 72.2%-Yes 27.8%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| Child is pointing out private parts on inanimate objects | 72.2%-Yes 27.8%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| Child puts up a fight to go around family | 83.3%-Yes 16.7%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| Puts up a fight to go around a caregiver | 88.2%-Yes 11.8%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| Puts up a fight to go around strangers | 70.1%-Yes 29.4%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| Child is showing curiosity about sexual matters | 47.1%-Yes 52.9%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| He/she is starting to become more secretive | 76.5-Yes 23.5%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| Has unexplained marks/bruises | 94.1%-Yes 5.88%-No | 0(no)-1(yes) |
| Open-ended: What do you consider some other signs that indicate child maltreatment? | N/A | N/A |
Table 1 includes descriptives on all variables of interest.
The research questions were; To what extent are adults able to identify signs of child abuse? And Do Adults choose to report abuse, and do they know how to? Both of these questions are answered using descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize features and indicators of child abuse.
The findings showed that the adults who took the survey answered that there are more signs for them that would indicate child maltreatment. This was collected as part of open-ended questions.
Discussion
The goal of this study was to measure adults’ knowledge on signs of child abuse and reporting, and it is important to note that the survey included all adults and was not limited to only healthcare professionals or professionals who work with children. The findings concluded that adults generally require more knowledge when it comes to reporting suspected abuse and training modules could help fulfill this. Adults picked up on different indicators that would be an issue if their own child, or a child were to show those signs as abuse. This is important because schools and/or jobs can implement certain training modules or practices that can help adults to at the very least know where to start, when it comes to reporting abuse.
To continue, the first measure; indicators of child abuse, did not confirm nor deny the hypothesis. This question was simply to measure to what extent are adults able to correctly identify certain signs of abuse, as abuse. However, it is important to note that some adults may not see the same signs as indicative of child abuse as other adults. This research does not necessarily compare to what others have found because there was no study that measured adults’ knowledge on indicators of child abuse with examples of what could be considered signs of physical, emotional, sexual, and mental abuse. While the sample size was small, the findings did not exactly fit with what other researchers found due to the nature of the research. The questions are rather sensitive and due to limitations, the data was not collected from many cultures, ages, and backgrounds of all sorts.
Further, for the second measure; education and reporting abuse, there was an important key finding. This finding was that one hundred percent of the adults that took the survey responded that they require more education on the topic of child abuse, especially when it came to reporting abuse. The finding confirmed the hypothesis that adults generally lack knowledge in reporting child maltreatment. This compares strongly to what other researchers have found in that specifically, a research conducted had implanted training modules for reporting abuse, on a Florida college campus. Every single undergraduate and graduate student had agreed that their knowledge pre-training versus post-training was very different, meaning that they significantly gained more knowledge post-training module and the training actually helped them become more educated and resourceful in examining and reporting abuse (Paavilanean et. al, 2002). This research did have far more resources and access to a much larger population to experiment on.
Limitations
Some limitations that were faced while conducting this research were; access to a larger population, and cultural variances. A larger population would have meant a range of ages starting from eighteen years of age, and a range of these ages would have given a better insight to our research as to adults’ jobs and a variety of different occupations. The limitation on cultural variance is significant, because different cultures have different approaches to child abuse and how they choose to handle it. The research touched very lightly on culture, namely Hispanic culture, but could not dive deeper into this discussion due to limitations. Future research could address these limitations by seeking out a larger area, such as school campuses or work places to conduct research for a variety of answers.
Conclusion
The importance of this study is that it could benefit adults from every background, culture, and area. A way to conquer and prevent child abuse is by understanding what it is and openly communicating about it. It is also important for adults to be able to recognize signs of child maltreatment and knowing how and when to seek help regarding the matter. Testing adults’ knowledge can be used to effect positive social change because it makes them look into their own lives and children. Further, this research could be used for change strategies in schools and workplaces and as proven, schools can implement training modules for all students. Education is the single most important factor for adults when it comes to reporting child abuse.
References
Kenny, M. (2007, June). Child abuse and neglect. Shibboleth authentication request. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.cc.uic.edu/science/article/pii/S0145213407000993
Maul, K., Naeem, R., Khan, U., & Brown, N. (2019, February). Child abuse in Pakistan. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.cc.uic.edu/science/article/pii/S014521341830396X
Paavilanean, E., & Merikanto, J. (2002, March). Identifications of child abuse. Shibboleth authentication request. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://www-sciencedirect-com.proxy.cc.uic.edu/science/article/pii/S0020748901000359
Gil, D. G. (1975). Unraveling child abuse. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 45(3), 346–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.1975.tb02545.x
