Adverse Childhood Experiences, Current Physical Violence, and Perceived Norms about Child Maltreatment as Correlates of Child Maltreatment Perpetration

Abstract

Misperceived social norms frequently impact personal behaviors. However, little is known about how this occurrence of misperceived social norms interact with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Current Violence (CV) in the context of violence against children. We conducted a cross-sectional study in 2020-2022 that targeted all adult men and women with children aged 6 and up who resided within eight villages in Rwampara District, southwestern Uganda. Corporal punishment of children was elicited by self-report. We also asked participants what they believed to be the prevalence of corporal punishment of children among other parents within their village (i.e., perceived norms). Multivariable Poisson regression models were used to estimate associations between child maltreatment by adults and several potential correlates (including perceived norms, ACEs, and Current Violence) among women and men living with at least one child over age 6 in the household. Misperceiving the local child maltreatment norms to be exaggerated was associated with an increased likelihood of hitting one’s child. There is a gender difference in relative risk. Men and women are both influenced by what they perceive other people of their same gender are doing in their village. Men who perceive that “Most men hit children in their households 3 or more times per week” are 4.95 times more likely to perpetrate violence as those who perceive that “Most men do this 0 times per week” (p<0.001). Women were also impacted by their perception of other women’s actions, and women who reported current physical violence were 1.48 times more likely to perpetrate violence as those who had not experienced violence from the opposite sex in the past three months (p=0.027). Women who reported ACEs were 1.35 times more likely to perpetrate violence as those who had not experienced ACEs (p=0.005). Interventions to correct misperceived norms about child maltreatment may decrease violence against children.