Family Characteristics and Structure as Determinants of Sexual Abuse Among Female Secondary School Students in Nigeria: A Brief Report

ABSTRACT

Child sexual abuse is associated with factors that enhance the vulnerability of the child, raising physical and mental health complications in adulthood. Three hundred and fifty students participated in this cross-sectional study. Important determinants of sexual abuse were parents not living together, not living with parents, family type, and current parents’ marital status (p < 0.05). Respondents living with both parents were two times less likely to experience sexual abuse (OR = 0.5, CI: 0.3, 0.9) than respondents living with their guardians. Respondents whose parents were living together were about two times less likely to experience sexual abuse (OR = 0.6, CI: 0.3–0.9) than respondents whose parents were not living together. Respondents whose parents were either divorced or separated were about six times more likely to experience sexual abuse (OR = 5.6, CI: 1.1–27.2) than respondents with widowed parents. The study showed that parental togetherness protected against child vulnerability and risk of being sexually abused.