Child Abuse and Its Psychological Effects on Primary School Pupils in Imo State, South East Nigeria

Child abuse, encompassing physical, emotional, and sexual maltreatment and neglect, remains a significant public health and psychological concern in Nigerian communities, with its effects on school-age children's psychological functioning deserving systematic examination. This study investigates the prevalence of child abuse and its psychological effects among primary school pupils in Imo State, South East Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional design is applied to 240 pupils aged 8 to 14 years from six public primary schools in three local government areas, with child abuse assessment conducted using the Children's Experience of Violence Questionnaire administered with caregiver consent. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire assesses psychological outcomes. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression are computed in SPSS. Available developmental psychology literature from South East Nigeria identifies corporal punishment, emotional neglect, and sexual abuse as the most documented forms of child maltreatment, with emotional and behavioural difficulties as the dominant psychological consequences in school settings. Attachment Theory by Bowlby and the Childhood Trauma Model provide the theoretical grounding. Findings are expected to document significant associations between abuse exposure and internalising and externalising problems, with school performance as an additional outcome measure. Outcomes will support the Imo State Ministry of Social Welfare in developing school-based child protection and psychosocial support programmes. Keywords: child abuse, psychological effects, primary school pupils, Imo State, South East Nigeria.