Rural–Urban Migration and Experience of Childhood Abuse in the Young Thai Population
Open Access
- 4 September 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Journal of Family Violence
- Vol. 26 (8), 607-615
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-011-9397-x
Abstract
Evidence suggests that certain migrant populations are at increased risk of abusive behaviors. It is unclear whether this may also apply to Thai rural–urban migrants, who may experience higher levels of psychosocial adversities than the population at large. The study aims to examine the association between migration status and the history of childhood sexual, physical, and emotional abuse among young Thai people in an urban community. A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in Northern Bangkok on a representative sample of 1052 young residents, aged 16–25 years. Data were obtained concerning: 1) exposures—migration (defined as an occasion when a young person, born in a more rural area moves for the first time into Greater Bangkok) and age at migration. 2) outcomes—child abuse experiences were assessed with an anonymous self report adapted from the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS). There were 8.4%. 16.6% and 56.0% reporting sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, respectively. Forty six percent of adolescents had migrated from rural areas to Bangkok, mostly independently at the age of 15 or after to seek work. Although there were trends towards higher prevalences of the three categories of abuse among early migrants, who moved to Bangkok before the age of 15, being early migrants was independently associated with experiences of physical abuse (OR 1.9 95%CI 1.1–3.2) and emotional abuse (OR 2.0, 95%CI 1.3–3.0) only. Our results suggest that rural–urban migration at an early age may place children at higher risk of physical and emotional abuse. This may have policy implications for the prevention of childhood abuse particularly among young people on the move.This publication has 33 references indexed in Scilit:
- Social Capital, Family Violence, and NeglectPEDIATRICS, 2006
- Neighborhood, Family, and Child Predictors of Childhood Injury in CanadaAmerican Journal of Health Behavior, 2004
- Child abuse among working children in rural Bangladesh prevalence and determinantsPublic Health, 2000
- Risk factors and context of men who physically abuse in Bogotá, ColombiaChild Abuse & Neglect, 2000
- Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) StudyAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 1998
- Social capital, income inequality, and mortality.American Journal of Public Health, 1997
- Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social CapitalJournal of Democracy, 1995
- Etiology of child maltreatment: A developmental€cological analysis.Psychological Bulletin, 1993
- Children of migrant farm work families are at high risk for maltreatment: New York State study.American Journal of Public Health, 1988
- Measuring Intrafamily Conflict and Violence: The Conflict Tactics (CT) ScalesJournal of Marriage and Family, 1979