Chldren's rights and corporal punishment in Assendabo town and the surrounding area, South West Ethiopia.
Corporal punishment of children has been used as a disciplinary measure to modify undesirable behavior of children worldwide. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the knowledge, attitudes and the extent that corporal punishment is practiced in the study area. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the residents of Assendabo town and its surroundings area form January 8-12, 2003. A total of 368 residents with at least one child living with them were selected and interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS for windows version 11.0. The study revealed 310 (87.6%) of the parents employed child corporal punishment as a method of disciplining out of which nearly half of them claimed their action was for the ultimate benefit of their children. Only 12 (3.5%) of the parents reported infliction of trauma while punishing their children. There was no significant parental difference both in attitude and practice of child corporal punishment. Family income is found to affect both attitude and practice of corporal punishment. From this study it is concluded that the knowledge about the existence of a legal framework which protects a child from any form of abuse is low. The attitude towards avoidance of child corporal punishment is unfavorable and there is a high prevalence of child corporal punishment practiced.
Admassu
Fisseha
F
Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Medical Sciences Faculty, Jimma University.
Nida
Hailu
H
Belachew
Tefera
T
Haileamlak
Abraham
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002651:Child Advocacy; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D005002:Ethiopia; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D011678:Punishment; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires