Assessment of the Knowledge and Attitude of Child Abuse among School Children in Chennai City - A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Child abuse is a major public health problem impairingthe health and welfare of children and adolescents worldwide. Child abuse can happen at home, in organizations, schools or communities the child interacts, which can affect a child's personal, social or psychological development leaving the child with psychological scars for lifetime. Sparse information is available about the knowledge of school children about Child abuse. Aim: To assess the knowledge and attitude of Child Abuse among school children in Chennai City. Methods: Thestudy was conducted among 172school goingchildren between 12 and 14 years whowere asked to complete a11-item structured questionnaire consisting of questionsregarding their knowledge and attitude on Child abuse. Results: Out of 172 children, 65% were awareabout child abuse but only 10% of them knew about its signs and symptoms. Physical abuse(68.2%) was regarded as the most common type of abuse. Majority of children (91.7%) wanted more information and education on child abuse. Conclusion: School children lack the knowledge about the signs and symptoms, and theprevention of child abuse. Thus there is a need of gaining more information about Child abuse.