Prevalence and risk factors of child victimization in China

Abstract

Children are among the most vulnerable to violence. A global problem, child

victimization has been extensively studied in the context of public health research.

As negative consequences of victimization are demonstrated, estimation of its

prevalence and identification of its risk factors are two major concerns of

researchers. Intimate partner violence (IPV), a worldwide prevalent family

problem in itself, is directly or indirectly demonstrated in association with risk of

different child victimizations. However, majority of previous studies on child

victimization were fragmented into clusters that center on specific forms of

victimization, primarily those involving conventional crime, maltreatment, peer

and sibling abuse, sexual violence, and witnessing of violence.

Efforts for assessing complete pattern of victimization in children emerged

only in recent years. Nevertheless, this initial development that has clear research

gaps is far from being enough. In such a context, the present study was conducted,

in a comprehensive perspective, to uncover pattern and prevalence, and to identify

risk factors of child victimization in the Chinese context. IPV was particularly

examined on its relationship with child victimization. The ecological theory and

family systems theory were integrated to build the conceptual research framework,

a family-based ecological model comprising levels of individual, family,

community, and social culture.

This study adopts a quantitative approach. Questionnaire survey was

successfully conducted among 953 parents of children aged 0-17 years old in

Wuhan, China. The respondents were identified through a four-stage stratified

sampling method. For the sake of ethical consideration and research requirement,

child victimization cases were reported by the parents. The Juvenile Victimization

Questionnaire (JVQ) was employed for measuring child victimization.

Approximately one in two children was reported having victimization. Of

these victims, the proportion of those who suffered from two or more types of

victimization was as high as half; children whose parents reported IPV accounted

for one-third. Through multiple logistic regression analyses, the hypothesis that

prior victimization can increase the risk of other victimizations was confirmed. A

series of factors in the ecological model, including IPV, were identified to have

association with child victimization. All the ecological factors were further

examined using a structured multiphase logistic regression analysis. The results of

two regression models were compared. The factors identified to be associated

with the risk of child victimization involve all four levels of the ecological model.

The finding suggests that occurrence of child victimization and IPV are associated

and share common risk factors in the family-based ecological system.

The findings emphasize the necessity of a comprehensive screening for child

victimization, and highlight cooperation between services for partners and for

children. The implications also include the application of family-based ecological

perspective in research, and the formulation of family-based systematic

prevention policies on child victimization and related family problems. In general,

the reexamination of the ecological theory with emphasis on family in this study

promotes the theoretical indigenization in China. The research findings contribute

to the scientific database on child victimization and provide valuable implications

for policies and practice of child protection.