The Inflence of Child Abuse on the Primary School Pupil Academic Achievement in Yakurr Local Government area Cross River State Nigeria

Abstract

Child abuse remains a major child-protection and educational concern because physical, sexual and emotional maltreatment can undermine children’s well-being, classroom participation and learning. This study examined the influence of child abuse on primary school pupils’ academic achievement in Yakurr Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey with a localized case-study focus was adopted. Five public primary schools were selected from the 42 public primary schools identified in the study area, and the inferential analyses reported in the manuscript were based on 80 valid questionnaire response units. Data were obtained through a structured questionnaire and personal interviews. The questionnaire used a five-point Likert response format and the reported test–retest reliability was approximately 0.95. Three null hypotheses covering physical, sexual and emotional abuse were tested using the chi-square goodness-of-fit statistic at the 0.05 significance level. The results showed strongly non-uniform response distributions in all three domains, with agreement that abuse adversely affects academic achievement dominating the response categories: physical abuse, χ²(4) = 94.88, p < .001; sexual abuse, χ²(4) = 79.38, p < .001; and emotional abuse, χ²(4) = 94.88, p < .001. The findings are consistent with evidence that maltreatment may impair concentration, emotional regulation, school engagement and educational progression. The study concludes that stronger prevention, reporting, counselling and non-violent discipline practices are needed in families and schools. Because the design is cross-sectional and perception-based, the findings should be interpreted as evidence of perceived association rather than proof of causality.