Patterns and Predictors of Childhood Exposure to Domestic Violence and Its Associated Factors Among In-School Adolescents in Ile-Ife,Osun State

Abstract

This study examined the prevalence of domestic violence (DV) exposure in in-school adolescents, the forms and ways in which adolescents get exposed or are involved in domestic violence, and factors that are associated with exposure to domestic violence. The study aimed to determine the pattern and factors associated with child exposure to domestic violence (CEDV) in Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to recruit 406 students from four secondary schools in Ile-Ife, South-western Nigeria; the design was descriptive cross-sectional. Standardized, facilitated, self-administered, semi-structured questionnaires were administered to participants after obtaining their assent and parental consent. Information collected included sociodemographic data and details of exposure to DV using the CEDV questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). The prevalence of exposure to any form of domestic violence was 84.7%. Verbal abuse was the most prevalent form of abuse observed by 78.8% of the participants. A third (32.1%) of participants reported exposure to DV for at least 4 years. About 45.3% of those exposed were involved in the DV to varying degrees. Most of those exposed to DV experienced it as first-hand witnesses, and 58.1% were direct victims: physically, emotionally, or sexually. Low socioeconomic class was significantly associated with exposure to DV (χ² = 6.158 and p = .046). Participants had high exposure to DV, and a large proportion of them were involved, with those from lower socioeconomic classes being at higher risk. Efforts must be put in place in the home (family) to protect children and to facilitate optimal psychosocial development.