Abstract:
The issue of child abuse has become fashionable in the Nigerian society and also other part of the world. Child abuse is a serious problem that can render a child to develop haphazardly, emotionally and academically. International organisations have expressed concerns about child abuse and have proved that abused children lack the potentials to contribute to the development of his or her society. It is against this background that the study investigated psychosocial factors as predictors of child abuse among junior secondary school students in Kaduna metropolis of Kaduna State. Descriptive research design of survey type was used in the study. Two hundred respondents were selected from five junior secondary schools in Kaduna metropolis of Kaduna State, Nigeria through simple random sampling technique. Two research questions were raised in the study. The respondents were measured with relevant standardized scale (instruments) with strong reliability coefficient which include; parental socio-economic status scale ? =.89, parenting style scale ? =.92 and child abuse scale ? = 93. The data obtained was analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC), Analysis of Variance and Multiple Regression Analysis statistical methods. The result showed that there was a positive significant relationship between parental socio-economic status and child abuse (r= .241; P<0.05), parenting styles and child abuse (r= .482; P<0.05). The two independent variables jointly accounted for 59.3% variance in predicting child abuse among junior secondary students. The independent variables made positive relative contribution to child abuse in the following order: parental socio-economic status (? = 0.233, t = 3.898, P < 0.05) followed by parenting styles (? = -0.178, t = -2.513, P < 0.05). It was concluded that if students move with peers who have negative influence in their lives, it could make such students to engage in abusing other students such as sexual abuse, physical, emotional to mention a few. On the strength of these findings, it was recommended that government should make a law on the issue of child abuse as anyone caught perpetrating this act should be dealt with and be made to face the wrath of the law. This will however serve as a deterrent to others who practice and/or who have the intention to also perpetrate this act.
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