AUTHOR=Qirjako Gentiana , Dika Qamil , Mone Iris , Draçini Xheladin , Kuneshka Loreta , Roshi Enver , Burazeri Genc 

TITLE=Correlates of Lifetime Physical Abuse Among Schoolchildren Aged 15 Years in Post-communist Albania

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.607493

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.607493

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Aim:</bold> Our aim was to assess the prevalence and correlates of lifetime physical abuse among schoolchildren in Albania, a post-communist country in South Eastern Europe which is currently undergoing a rapid socioeconomic transition.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> The third wave of Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) in Albania was conducted in 2017–18 including a nationwide representative sample of 1,708 schoolchildren aged 15 years (54% girls; response rate: 95%). Children were asked to report on lifetime physical abuse and a wide range of socio-demographic factors, lifestyle factors and health status characteristics. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the independent association of lifetime physical abuse with covariates.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Overall, the prevalence of lifetime physical abuse was about 32% (30% in boys vs. 32% in girls). In multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models, independent positive correlates of lifetime physical abuse among Albanian schoolchildren included lifetime smoking (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1–2.2), lifetime alcohol consumption (OR = 1.6, 95%CI = 1.2–2.1), irritability (OR<sub>[dailyvs.rarely/never]</sub> = 2.0, 95%CI = 1.3–3.0), and especially lifetime witnessed domestic violence (OR = 4.2, 95%CI = 2.2–7.9). Conversely, a higher score on life satisfaction was inversely related to lifetime physical abuse (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.01).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Our study provides novel evidence about the magnitude and selected independent correlates of lifetime physical abuse among schoolchildren in Albania, a country still embedded in an everlasting transition which is associated with tremendous changes in family structure, community links and societal norms and values. Irrespective of a wide range of sociodemographic factors and health characteristics, lifetime smoking, alcohol consumption, irritability, a lower score on life satisfaction and, particularly, witnessed domestic violence were strong and significant correlates of lifetime physical abuse among Albanian schoolchildren aged 15 years.</p>