Association Between Violent Discipline at Home and Risk of Illness and Injury in Children: Findings From a Cross-sectional Study in Rural Western China

Abstract

To estimate the prevalence of violent discipline at home against young children, and to explore the potential association between violent discipline at home and multifaceted health risks in children. A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in twenty rural counties of weight provinces in western China. The information about child neglect and socio-demographic factors, exposure to different forms of violent discipline at home and four health outcomes was collected by face-to-face interview. Before analysis, the included interviews were weighted by the double-weighted comprehensive weighting. The proportion of children reported by primary caregivers to have experienced different forms of violent discipline by gender were calculated. To adjust the clustering effect of the survey design, two-level univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate the potential association between a child’s exposure to violent discipline at home and risk of suffering from diarrhea, fever, cough and injury. A total of 3,682 weighted interviews were finally included in the analysis. The prevalence of any violent discipline, psychological aggression, any physical punishment and severe physical punishment were 76.4%, 57.5%, 68.3% and 14.1%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, after adjusting for clustering, there was still a positive association between a child’s exposure to psychological aggression and risk of diarrhea (adjusted OR: 1.47, 95%CI: 1.14-1.90) and injury (adjusted OR: 1.95, 95%CI: 1.36-2.80); a child’s exposure to any physical punishment and risk of diarrhea (adjusted OR: 1.36, 95%CI: 1.04-1.77), cough (adjusted OR: 1.37, 95%CI: 1.14-1.66), and injury (adjusted OR: 2.05, 95%CI: 1.37-3.06); and a child’s exposure to severe physical punishment and risk of injury (adjusted OR: 2.07, 95%CI: 1.41-3.05). Considering that using violent discipline at home is prevalent in rural western China, and it could threaten young children’s health, effective measures to prevent young children from violent discipline are urgently needed.

Household Water Access, Dietary Diversity and Nutritional Status among Preschoolers in Poor, Rural Areas of Central and Western China

“…Anthropometric and hemoglobin measures of the child were also collected during the fieldwork. Details of this survey have been described in previous studies [ 23 , 24 , 25 ].…”

Depressive symptoms, parenting attitude, and violent discipline among caregivers of left-behind children in rural China: a cross-sectional study

“…In the present study, the prevalence of total violent discipline was as high as 72.7%, 59.3% for psychological aggression, and 60.4% for physical punishment for left-behind children under 6 years of age. Huang Y. et al reported a higher prevalence of violent discipline (76.4%), physical punishment (68.3%), and a similar prevalence of psychological aggression (57.5%) in rural western China [ 14 ]. Another study found similar results in rural counties of China [ 15 ].…”

“…Left-behind children were more likely to suffer from psychological aggression and physical punishment compared with non-left-behind children [ 13 ]. Approximately 73.1% of left-behind children in China reported experiencing violent discipline [ 14 ]. Currently, only a few studies have investigated the prevalence of violent discipline among left-behind children in rural areas of China [ 14 , 15 ], which mainly focused on children under 4 years old.…”

“…Approximately 73.1% of left-behind children in China reported experiencing violent discipline [ 14 ]. Currently, only a few studies have investigated the prevalence of violent discipline among left-behind children in rural areas of China [ 14 , 15 ], which mainly focused on children under 4 years old.…”

Determinants of Violence Against Children in Indonesia: A Literature Review

“…Authoritarian parenting styles make children obedient to the values set by their parents, with a tendency to restrict their desires and often impose physical punishment on them if they fail to meet the standards set by their parents (Lisnadiyanti & Bagus, 2019). Families in rural Western China, for instance, use severe physical punishment to discipline their children at home, posing a health risk to them (Huang et al, 2022). Conversely, permissive parenting styles may result in violence in schools since children become accustomed to acting freely without parental supervision or discipline, which may encourage bullying (Lisnadiyanti & Bagus, 2019).…”