A comparison between urban and rural child abuse : Kafr el-Dawar region study

Abstract EN

Child abuse is a major public problem with significant economic and human burden.

Objectives: To explore the socio-demographics and other characteristic factors related to child abuse in a sample of Egyptian children from (6- 12) year, living in Kafr EL Dawar region (city and countryside).

Design of the study: Case control study.

Subjects& Methods: Two hundred and fifty children and their caregivers were recruited from the outpatient clinic of Kafr El Dawar General Hospital, another age and sex matched 250 non abused children and their caregivers were enrolled as controls.

Parents from both groups assessed by Fahmy and Sherbini scale for social class assessment.

All children were assessed using the General Health Questionnaire, interviewed by the MINI KID, and child Abuse and Neglect screening designed questionnaire.

Results: Abused males were (62.4%) vs.

(37.6%) females (P=0.015), more in rural area (64.4%) vs.

(35.6%), (P=0.456).

Risk factors included: earlier order of birth, offender parents with lower levels of education, lower grades of occupation, lower income, higher divorce, more single parents, higher incidence of psychiatric illness, and substance abuse than the non offender ones.

Parents of the abused children showed more prevalence of psychiatric illness, 6% vs 2.4% of non abused children (P= 0.045), and more history of substance abuse 12.4%vs 4.8% of non abused (P= 0.002).

Regarding the family history, it was noticed that history of childhood abuse was highly prevalent in parents of the abused children than those of the other group, (32.4%) vs.

(13.2%) of non abused (p < 0.001), as well as their siblings who were abused in (46.8%) of cases vs.

only (4.8%) of siblings of the non abused group (P < 0.001).

Meanwhile, we studied