Parents' Perceptions of Child Neglect and Abuse in the Jordanian Society

Abstract

The current study aims at identifying the quality
and level of perception, awareness and information
concerning child neglect and physical and sexual abuse
among a sample of Jordanian parents living in Amman.
Using a descriptive method, the researchers developed and
implemented a survey on a stratified random sample (N =
1822, 33.3% male, 66.7% female) of parents in the age
group 25-65 years, with a mean age of 38.17 and a
standard deviation of 9.6, and a median age of 40. The
data was gathered under the supervision of the researchers
by a trained team of university students enrolled in two
state universities (the Hashemite University and the Balqa
University). In spite of showing a widespread awareness of
the size and effects of the problems of child neglect
physical and sexual child abuse, the respondents indicated
that they lack awareness of the community services
available for them to cope with this problem. Specifically,
the respondents were unsure about what they should do in
case of learning about a child abuse incident, and did not
know where they could refer the victim or the abuser.
The findings also provided evidence for an urgent need to
focus public attention on the problem of neglect and abuse
of children, and to emphasize the importance of detecting
indicators of child abuse perpetrators among Jordanian
parents, and to raise awareness of the community
resources available in Jordan to cope with this problem.