INFLUENCE OF PARENTAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS ON THE INCIDENCE OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS IN AGUATA EDUCATION ZONE OF ANAMBRA STATE.

ABSTRACT

The study sought to find out the influence of parental socio-economic status on the incidence of child abuse and neglect among primary school pupils in Aguata education zone of Anambra State. Three major attributes of socio-economic status (parents’ income, parents’ education and parents’ occupation) were considered. The study adopted Ex-post facto research design. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Sample consisted of 618 primary six pupils drawn from schools in Aguata education zone through simple random sampling. The instrument used for data collection was parental socio-economic status and incidence of child abuse and neglect questionnaire. The overall reliability coefficient of the instrument was found to be 0.83. Data collected were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The finding of the study revealed that parents’ level of income significantly influences the incidence of child abuse and neglect. It was also revealed that parents’ level of education significantly influences the incidence of child abuse and neglect. Furthermore, it was discovered that parent’s occupation significantly influences the incidence of child abuse and neglect. The implications of the findings were discussed and appropriate suggestions and recommendations were made.