Childhood Experiences and Factors Associated with Perpetration of Violence Among Young Adults In Delta State Prisons, Nigeria.

Background

Violent acts perpetrated by young people can cause physical and psychological harm to others and is of serious public health concern. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of childhood trauma, to assess the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and other predicting factors, and the perpetration of violence among young adults in Delta state prisons .

Method

A descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted amongst 293 young adults aged 18-35 who were convicted prison inmates in Delta State Correctional facilities. Three out of the five facilities in Delta State were selected using simple random sampling, after which a total sampling of incarcerated inmates from the three selected facilities was carried out. Data were collected using the; Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) to measure adverse childhood experiences, and a proforma to classify the offense of the inmate (whether violent or non-violent).

Result

The mean age of the respondents was 28.4 ± 5.4 years. The overall prevalence of childhood trauma was 5.1%. The prevalence of violent offenses was 46.1%. Age, (OR=0.3; CI= 0.2-0.6, p=0.001), attaining primary education (OR=3.4; CI= 1.5-7.8, p=0.004) and having witnessed violence while growing up (OR=2.0; CI= 1.2-3.3, p=0.007) were all significant predictors of the perpetration of violence.

Conclusion

The overall prevalence of childhood trauma was low in this study, the most frequent domain of childhood trauma experienced was emotional neglect. Further research is required to develop study instruments for childhood trauma that are more context-specific bearing in mind local sociocultural practices.