Prevalence of physical and emotional maltreatment by parents in preschool children

Objective To ascertain the prevalence of physical and emotional maltreatment by parents among children at age of 3-6 years old in Tangshan city,and to provide scientific evidence for community-based intervention measures.Methods Totally 243 parents of preschool children were surveyed with self-administered questionnaire anonymously.Results The prevalence of maltreatment to children by their parents was 74.1% in the previous year(emotional maltreatment:67.1%,physical maltreatment:60.1%).Among the children who suffered from physical maltreatment,28.8% underwent no-contact corporal punishment;52.7% experienced minor violence;8.6% children suffered from severe violence;0.4% encountered most severely violence.8.3% of the children who suffered from maltreatment were injured due to the violence.The primary reason that parents had violence to their children was children's bad habits.Conclusion The problem of maltreatment by parents among preschool children is common and harmful to the health of the children.