INFLUENCE OF CHILD ABUSE ON THE SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF PUPILS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS
ABSTRACT
The study looked at the impact of child abuse on the social adjustment of children in primary schools in Lagos State’s Mainland Local Government Area. Some relevant and extensive literatures were reviewed in this study under relevant sub-headings. Using a questionnaire and a sampling technique, the descriptive research survey was used to assess the respondents’ opinions. In this study, 120 (one hundred and twenty) respondents were chosen and used as samples to represent the study’s population.
In this study, four (4) null hypotheses were developed and tested. In addition, at the 0.05 level of significance, the independent t-test statistical tool was used to test and analyze the null hypotheses.
The following outcomes were obtained at the conclusion of the exercise:
1. There is a significant difference in the family backgrounds of abused children and those who are not abused.
2. There is a significant difference in the social adjustment of abused children and those who are not abused.
3. There is a significant difference in academic performance between abused children and those who are not.
4. Finally, there is a significant difference in the abuse of children from high socioeconomic homes versus those from low socioeconomic homes.
INTRODUCTION
1.1 THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
In today’s society, the term “child abuse” has become alarming. Its magnitude and frequency of occurrence have drew international attention. Children’s protection from all forms of abuse has been a major crusade in our society (Henry, 1996). Parents who abuse their children come from all ethnic, religious, geographic, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds, and many of these parents were abused as children themselves.
They see their children as people who should meet their parents’ psychological needs. When the child is unable to do so, as he or she usually is, the parents may become enraged. The vast majority of abusers are simply lonely, unloved, immature, depressed, and angry people.
The way children are abused nowadays is not the same as it was in the past. Many parents, for example, undress in full view of their children, psychologically abusing them. Parents hardly ever undressed in front of their children back then.
This, in turn, reduced the rate of child abuse in those days. Parents nowadays do not consider undressing in front of their children to be a sin. Rather, they believe they are instructing the child on how to care for their bodies and dresses. Child abuse is defined as the physical or emotional harm done to children by their parents, guardians, or other adult members of society, according to Achilles (1994).
In the United States, for example, physical abuse is reported per million people each year. A roughly equal number of cases of serious neglect have been reported. One-third of all types of child abuse affect children under the age of one year, one-third between the ages of one and three, and one-third over the age of three. Every country in the world has laws that require doctors and other professionals to report suspected child abuse.
Laypeople are also strongly encouraged to report cases of child abuse or neglect so that these children can be identified and assisted (United Nations, 2000). One of the reasons this researcher is conducting this study is the rate at which adolescents are becoming touts and hooligans in society. This is due to the fact that many students from good homes appear to be socially maladjusted.
Perhaps as a result of parental abuse or neglect. The prevalence of homeless, street trading, touts, area boys and girls, and prostitution among our youths in Nigerian society, particularly in Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State, is cause for concern.
Oloko (1996) believes that the magnitude of child abuse or neglect, as well as the frequency with which it occurs, has attracted global attention; for example, she claims that protecting children from all forms of abuse has been a major crusade in our society and beyond. According to her, symposia were held in Lagos and other cities to commemorate African Children’s Day, in which people took part.
Representatives from the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) were present as well. Furthermore, other organizations such as the Organization for African Unity (OAU), the International Labor Organization (ILO), and others have expressed concern about this societal phenomenon. Children are abused in a variety of ways by either their parents or other adults in society.
Sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological abuse, and total neglect are all forms of abuse that result in a negative social adjustment in society (Russel, 1986). Child sexual abuse and neglect are widely regarded as causes of adult mental health problems.
The potential impact of child sexual abuse on adult social and economic functioning has not received the attention it may have deserved, as have the documented difficulties that sexually abused children face in school with academic performance and behavior (Jong, Balt, and Raymond, 1987; Chen and Mannerino, 1988; and Friederch, 1989). (1989).
According to Banjor (1997), the fact that Nigerian children are subjected to various forms of abuse and neglect by individuals and society does not imply that such treatment of children is legal or fashionable. As a result, he agrees with the Nigerian constitution, which states in Chapter 11, Section 18 that children, young people, and the elderly in our society or communities are to be protected from moral or material neglect.
According to Becker (1990), various laws are enacted in the United States of America to protect the interests of children. Their provision is bolstered further by the requirement that the children not be subjected to any form of abuse or neglect. More so, because they represent the future development of the society in which they live.
According to Oloko (1996) and Bamidele (1999), children are frequently seen hawking in Lagos while their parents/guardians sit at home comfortably waiting for the proceeds. Apart from the fact that I am not in school. Female children are married off at a young age in early marriages.
Furthermore, female genital mutilation is prevalent in almost all parts of the country today; it is heartbreaking to note that, despite media reports about its dangers, some parents and guardians continue to subject their children or wards to this dangerous practice. It is impossible to eradicate child abuse or neglect when parents/guardians actively promote it.
In some communities, for example, parents actually give their children or wards out as house helpers only to come at the end of the month for money (Adeoye, 2000 and Kendale, 2000). This has resulted in untold hardship for the children who are assigned to serve as househelps. Many children who work as househelps do not attend school. Even when they attend school, their school fees are not paid on time, and they are not provided with necessary school materials such as school uniforms, textbooks, exercise books, and so on.
As a result of being a househelp, a child develops absenteeism, truancy, and dropping out of school syndrome. In any case, these factors contribute to the child’s poor academic performance, poor social and personal adjustment, and poor socioeconomic status as an adult member of society.
In many cases, child abuse has resulted in prostitution and sexual harassment, which has resulted in unwanted pregnancies, abortion, death, or early motherhood without education. For example, a girl child who sells goods on the street may become a prostitute, exposing herself to sexually transmitted diseases such as the deadly HIV/AIDS, which may result in her death prematurely and cutting short her opportunity and career in life (Nwagbo, 1998). Child abuse can be defined by the following criteria:
Lack of parental care, poverty, loss of parents or death of breadwinner(s) in the home, parental divorce or separation Some of these factors can lead to a child being left in the hands of care-givers such as step-parents, guardians, and others who now mishandle the child’s affairs in the most unfortunate way or manner that contributes to abuse or care-givers to the child’s social adjustment.
Because of the abuse meted out to the child by those who are supposed to care for him/her, the child becomes socially maladjusted in the community or society where he/she funds himself/herself. This results in social deviations and delinquencies, which are anti-social behaviors or negative norms that the society despises and avoids.
1.2 Formulation of the Problem
The rise in the prevalence of child abuse in society has been a source of great concern for both the government and educators. Child abuse has been a persistent problem in many parts of the country. The society or environment in which a child is raised influences the level of child abuse to which he or she is subjected.
As a result, society is no longer free. Child abuse has consumed many Nigerians’ minds, particularly parents, guardians, and other caregivers in the country. Child abuse problems include street begging for parents’ support and hawking on the streets by children, who are at risk of being hit by speeding vehicles.
Many neglected children become hooligans, robbers, and other criminals, while females become prostitutes and engage in other deviant behaviors in society, such as rape, sexual harassment, drug abuse, and addiction. Other negative influences include personality issues, a high rate of crime in our society, corruption, absenteeism, truancy, and dropping out of school, which is common among abused and neglected children, and so on.
This study is being conducted against this backdrop in order to investigate the effects of child abuse on the personal social adjustment of primary school students and to recommend possible solutions to this problem. 1.3 Purpose of the Research The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of child abuse on the personal and social adjustment of students in the Surulere Local Government Area of Lagos State.
1.4 Questions for Further Research
The following research questions will guide the study’s design.
1. What are the root causes of child abuse?
2. What are the consequences of child abuse?
3. Is there a difference in social adjustment between abused and neglected children and those who are not?
4. Is there a difference in the social and personal adjustment of male and female students?
5. Is there a difference in academic performance between children who have been abused or neglected and those who have not?
6. How can the issue of child abuse be addressed?
1.5 Hypotheses for Research
This study will be guided by the following research hypotheses:
1. There will be no discernible difference in the family backgrounds of abused children and those who are not abused.
2. There will be no discernible difference in the social adjustment of abused children and those who are not.
3. There will be no discernible difference in academic performance between abused children and those who are not. 4. There will be no discernible difference in the abuse of children from high socioeconomic homes and those from low socioeconomic homes.
1.6 Importance of the Research
The significance of this research work is that it will provide more information to the general public, particularly parents and guardians, about the effects of child abuse and neglect on adolescents. It will also educate people on the various types of child abuse and some proposed solutions to the problems of child abuse in our society.
1.7 Scope of the Research The study will look at the effects of child abuse on the personal social adjustment of students in secondary schools in Lagos State’s Surulere Local Government Area.
1.8 The Study’s Limitations Surulere Local Government will be the focus of the research. Funding, time, and the availability of suitable materials would all be impediments to the timely completion of this project work.
1.9 Definitions of Terms The terms listed below have been operationally defined:
1. Child: A child is a person who, due to his frail personality, is easily controlled and dictated to by adult members of society.
2. Child Abuse: Child abuse is defined as child labor beyond the age of the child. Long hours of labor, for example, sending the child to do some paid jobs to supplement the family income when the child is supposed to go to school, and so on.
3. Child Neglect: Child neglect is defined as a situation in which a child is not given proper care or attention and is deprived of basic necessities of life.
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