Safety in childhood : a prevalence study of childhood abuse experiences in Malta a quantitative research study

Abstract

The primary aim of this research was to obtain a prevalence rate of children witnessing domestic violence and other forms of abuse through recruiting a representative sample (through quota sampling) of 18- to 24-year-old participants and asking them about their retrospective childhood experiences of witnessing domestic violence, of suffering child maltreatment, neglect, peer and sibling victimisation and sexual victimisation. The rates of abuse obtained are lifetime prevalence rates, based on their childhood abuse experiences, from 0 to 17 years of age. The research also obtained the rate of polyvictimisation amongst these young people. The data was collected through computer-assisted web interviews, that is online, based on questions that were adapted from the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire Revision – 2 (JVQ- R2; Finkelhor, D., Hamby, S., Turner, H., & Ormrod, R (2011). The sample consisted of 433 respondents, out of which 49.2% (n=213) were males and 50.8% (n=220) were females. The young people were mainly recruited through social media and through the dissemination of the online link by various educational institutions and entities working with young people.