Risk factors involved in physical child abuse of children from Bihor County

Abstract

Introduction. Understanding the risk factors leading to child abuse is useful when developing effective prevention and early intervention strategies. Modern experts who assessed the environment of the abused child reported that risk factors are multidetermined and are derived from three main etiological causes: parental, ecological and intrinsic problems of the child. Material and methods. A statistical analysis was performed on a group of 176 cases of reported child abuse in Bihor County between 2013 and 2017. The collected data was examined with the use of SPSS 2.0 statistical program. Results. Results demonstrate that the most frequent risk factor involved in physical child abuse is alcohol consumption (28.98% of cases), followed by abuser’s nervousness and drug consumption; the least frequent risk factor being abuser’s response to property theft. Discussions. Physical violence can cause both psychological and physical damage to the child. Research shows that when children experience a certain form of violence, they are also associated with a higher risk of being vulnerable to other forms of abuse. Conclusions. The most frequent risk factor involved in physical abuse of children from Bihor County is alcohol consumption, representing 28.98% of all risk factors analyzed. A holistic approach is absolutely essential for eliminating physical abuse of children.

Keywords

• abuse
• risk factors
• causes