Frequency of child abuse and some related factors in 2-5 years children attending health centers of Ahvaz and Haftgel in 2011

Children are the most vulnerable groups in society. Although exact information about prevalence of child isn’t available but short and long- term consequences of child abuse and child neglect have been documented in many studies.

In a descriptive-analytic study 956 children 2-5 years attending health centers of Ahvaz and Haftgel cities were studied in 2010. A questionnaire was used for data collection. SPSS (version 17), frequency tables, chi-square test and logistic regression were used for data entering & analysis.

Overall 67.5% (645 cases) of children experienced physical punishment. Prevalence of psychological violence was 70%. Physical violence in the cities of Ahvaz and Haftgel was 67.6% and 67.7% respectively. The highest prevalence of physical and psychological violence was estimated in Arab women and illiterate mothers.

The high prevalence of violence in this study is different with the results of studies in other countries but is consistent with the results of studies within the country. Screening & referring of the victims of child abuse should be given priority in health centers.