Child-reported violence, beliefs, and mental health: A cross-sectional quantitative study of 6-17-year-olds in South Africa.

The majority of sampled children reported experiencing emotional abuse and physical abuse from a caregiver.

• Sample consisted of 280 children aged 6-17 with a mean age of 8.8 from low-resource communities in South Africa.
• 56% of children reported experiencing emotional abuse from a caregiver.
• 55% of children reported experiencing physical abuse from a caregiver.
• Both forms of caregiver abuse were more prevalent for girls.

Repeated peer violence and sibling violence were common among the sampled children.

• 53% of children reported repeated peer violence.
• 21% of children reported sibling violence.
• Both peer and sibling violence were more prevalent for girls.
• Younger children were more likely to experience higher peer violence scores.

Community violence was common and most children showed moderate endorsement of violence norms.

• 27% of children reported community violence.
• Most children showed 'a moderate endorsement of violence norms.'
• The study used an interviewer-led child-friendly questionnaire to assess children's views on violence.

Age was associated with differential patterns of violence exposure and mental health outcomes.

• Younger children were more likely to experience physical abuse.
• Younger children were more likely to have higher peer violence scores.
• Adolescents were more likely to report suicidality compared to younger children.

Peer violence, community violence, and domestic violence were most consistently associated with poor mental health outcomes in multivariate regression analyses.

• Associations were identified via multivariate regression analyses.
• The study assessed mental health symptoms including suicidality through child-reported measures.
• The regression models evaluated multiple forms of violence simultaneously against mental health symptom outcomes.

The study employed a cross-sectional child sample drawn from within a longitudinal, multi-generational study in low-resource South African communities.

• Sample size was n = 280 children aged 6-17 with a mean age of 8.8.
• Children completed an interviewer-led child-friendly questionnaire covering experiences and views on violence, mental health symptoms, and life broadly.
• The study is described as a 'cross-sectional child sample within a longitudinal, multi-generational study.'
• Analyses assessed prevalence across age and gender, plus associations between mental health symptoms and violence.