Psychological Determinations of Child Abuse among Parents in Kontagora Emirate of Niger State, Nigeria (Published)
The study examined psychological determination of child abuse among parents in Kontagora Emirate of Niger State. A descriptive survey research design was employed. A random sampling technique was used to select subject from the parents and a total of 400 parents were selected for the study. 170 were males, 230 were females, 120 were Christians while 280 were Muslim inclination, 260 were public servants and 140 were self-employed parents. The instrument used for the study was a self-developed structured Psychological Determinant of Child Abuse (PDCA) with reliability index of 0.76. It was revealed that stress, tension, frustration, the child’s behaviour as well as parents’ relationship are factors responsible for child abuse among others. Recommendations were made as to how parents should be taught child and home management techniques and skills.
Keywords: Child abuse, Emirate, Kontagora, Parents, Psychological Determination
Assessing Young Children’s Social Competence: The Greek Version of the Social Competence Scale for Preschoolers-Parent Version (Published)
Successful social functioning in the kindergarten is related to future academic success and is regarded as one of the basic goals of the curriculum. Assessment of social competence is therefore critical to identify children at risk for poor outcomes and to provide evidence for the effectiveness of relevant activities and programs. Parents are considered quite reliable informants regarding children’s social competence and measurements should include relevant behaviors that may develop regardless context and situation. The purpose of present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the Social Competence Scale-Parent version (SCS-P), taking into account that relevant robust measures of social competence are lacking with reference to the Greek context. Mothers of 913 children attending public kindergartens, aged 4-6 years, participated in the study, from 33 prefectures of Greece. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two robust and reliable factors. Only two items did not load onto the expected factor showing the value-laden and culture specific nature of social competence.
Keywords: : Scale, Greece, Kindergarten, Parents, social competence