Domestic Violence and Child Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Settings: Psychological, Academic, and Quality-of-Life Impacts Among School Children in Southern Nigeria

Objectives: Domestic violence is a growing public concern today, but little attention is given to the effect it has on

children who are exposed to it. The effect of domestic violence on their psychological well-being, academic work and

quality of life is often neglected the study aims to determine the impact of domestic violence on the psychological wellbeing, academic performance and quality of life of children in Calabar metropolis located in southern Nigeria.

Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out among secondary school students in Calabar municipality. A

stratified random sampling technique was used to recruit respondents. The following instruments were administered to

400 respondents: Socio-demographic questionnaire, Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence Scale (CEDV), General

Health questionnaire-12(GHQ-12), Academic Performance Rating Scale (APRS) and World Health Organisation

Quality of Life -Brief version (WHOQOL-BREF). The Cut-off point used for psychological distress is GHQ-12 score

greater or equals to 14 while that of poor academic performance is academic score below the 25th percentile. The cutoff point for poor quality of life is domain score below 50 points. Data was analysed using SPSS version 25, and the

p-value was set at <0.05.

Findings: The study recruited 400 participants. The mean age of the participants was 14.8± 2.0. The proportion of male

respondents was 45.3%, while that of the females was 54.7%. The prevalence rate of children’s exposure to domestic

violence was 27.3%. There was a statistically significant relationship between children’s exposure to domestic violence

and psychological distress(p=0.00), academic performance(p=0.00) and quality of life(p=0.00). The study showed that

the predictors of exposure to domestic violence in children include age 15years and above, polygamous family setting,

married/divorced parents and poor social relations. Protective factors for exposure to domestic violence in children

include respondent with average academic performance, those with no witness of domestic violence in the past and those

with no psychological distress.

Conclusions: The result of the study shows that exposure to domestic violence in children has far-reaching implications

on both their physical and psychological well-being. Efforts should be made to reduce children’s exposure to domestic

violence and give them a healthy environment in which to grow. In addition, there is need for school-based screening

program to identify children exposed to domestic violence