SOCIAL STUDIES SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT 2014-2015

NAME: ADRIANA BETHANY JULIUS

CANDIDATE #:1001381812
CENTRE #: 100138
TERRITORY: JAMAICA
SCHOOL: BRIDGEPORT EVENING INSTITUTE
TOPIC: CHILD ABUSE
TEACHER: MS. M. DOIG

TABLE OF CONTENT

PAGES

Acknowledgement.

Introduction.

Statement of the Problem

Reason for Selecting the Area of Research..

Method of Investigation

Procedure for collecting data

Data Collection Instrument

Presentation of Data..

11

Analysis and Interpretation..

15

Findings.

16

Recommendation.

17

Bibliography

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Appendix...

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Having someone to help with your project is a blessing. I would like to thank the residence of
2East Greater Portmore for their corporation in this research. All were very nice and understand
what was taking place. Also thank teachers and students for the guidelines and the effort of
helping me put this project together. Lastly thank Rampersad Ramsawak and Ralph R. Umraw
for their knowledge about child abuse.

INTRODUCTION

Child abuse is the physical, sexual or emotional maltreatment or neglect of a child or children.
Child Abuse occurs worldwide. Every second a child is being abused sexually physically and
emotionally which we as humans need to put an end to. This research will show the incidence of
child abuse in the community of 2East Greater Portmore St.Catherine Jamaica. Not all residence
were interviewed because thats time consuming for the researcher and will take forever.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

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What are the views on Child Abuse in my community?

REASON FOR SELECTING THE AREA OF RESEARCH

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It is now evident that it has become the norm for children and teenagers to be abused. As a
student of going to a prominent high school, I have heard of my fellow school mates talk about
being scolded by parents, which have become a popular topic to speak about.
I found this topic to be very interesting mainly because of the fact that children in my
surroundings are being abused by parents, relatives and even strangers, which should not be
happening.

METHOD OF INVESTIGATION
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In order to collect data a printed questionnaire was used for the research. A questionnaire has a
number of advantages:

It takes little time to be completed

It guarantees total confidentiality of the respondent

It is not time consuming and it has the convenience of the person required to fill out
The method f data collecting which was used in the research is that of a survey and the
instrument used is a questionnaire. The researcher used a survey method of collection data
because the responses are gathered in a standard way so there are more objectives and it is
relatively easy to collect dat. Hence, respondents were not required to include personal data such
as their names and addresses.

PROCEDURE FOR COLLECTING DATA

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The survey was conducted in the community of 2East Greater Portmore in St.Catherine, Jamaica.
The sample consisted of twenty-five persons (25); 8 males and 17 females.
I collected the data by visiting houses in my community, asking if they could do a quick survey. I
handed a copy of the questionnaire to them telling them to answer the questions truthfully. After
the survey was done I did an analysis between each question and answer to see how they differ.

DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT

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1. Does child abuse exist in the community?

Yes
No
Not Sure
2. Are there parents who abuse their children?
Always
Sometimes
Never
3. Do you think child abuse is right?
Agree
Disagree
Not Sure
4. Would you say that child abuse is giving a child attention?
Agree
Disagree
Not Sure
5. If you are passing by your neighbors house and he/she is abusing their child, would you
intervene and tell them to stop?
Yes
No
Not Sure
6. Have you heard children taking about their parents mistreating them in the community?
Always
Sometimes
Never
7. Do you think when parents are abusing their child they are showing them love?
Agree
Disagree
Not Sure
8. Would you agree that when parents scold their child/children for something wrong they
did, it is a form of child abuse?
Yes
No
Not Sure
9. When children are abused, do you think they will become abusers as adults?
Agree
Disagree
Not Sure
10. When a parent beats a child severely and cause harm would you see that as physical
abuse?
Agree

Disagree

Not Sure

11. Having an intimate relationship with ones child under eighteen (18), do you think it is
right to do so?
Agree

Disagree

Not Sure

12. What can be done to reduce the incidence of child abuse?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

PRESENTATION OF DATA

Parents abusing their children

RESPONSE
S
Sometime

NO.OF
RESPONSE
S
16

Always

Not Sure

6
10

Figure one show responses to the question, Are there parents who abuse their children?
Sixteen (16) respondents answered sometime, five (5) respondents answered always. The
remaining six (6) were not sure if there are children being abused by parents.

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NEVER

SOMETIMES

ALWAYS

10

12

14

Figure two shows all respondents agreed to the question Have you heard children talking about
their parents mistreating them in the community?
Twelve (12) of the respondents ticked sometimes, Five (5) of the respondents ticked never and
the remaining three (3) ticked always.

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Abusers as Adults

Agree
40%

40%

Disagree
Not Sure

20%

Figure three showing When children are abused, do you think they will become abusers as
adults? 40% of the respondents agreed, 20% of the respondents disagreed and the remaining
40% were not sure.

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60%
50%

40%
30%

20%
10%

0%

Agree

Disagree

Not sure

Figure four showing responses for the question Having an intimate relationship with ones child
under eighteen (18); do you think its right to do so?
Thirty (30) percent of the respondents agreed, Fifty (50) percent disagreed and the remaining
Twenty (20) percent were not sure.

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ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Information showed that 64% of the respondents say that there are parents who frequently abuse
their children. The cause of this can be stress upon the parents and if the child displays an
intolerable behavior the parent gets very upset and takes that anger out on the child. In the
community a lot of children has a social relationship with one another. They frequently share
stories with one another and discussing situations; in Figure 2 you will see that twelve of the
respondents which are 48% hear the children in the community talking about their parents
mistreating them. Parents should consider talking to their child before approaching them with the
intention of being scolded. Growing up in a home children always do what they see their parents
doing, say what they hear their parents saying etc; Figure three shows what respondents think
about the incidence of children becoming an abuser as adults when they are abused, there was an
equal amount of respondents who both agreed and were not sure which is 40%. As Jamaicans the
Government made it clear that the age of consent to have sex is sixteen (16) but there is still a lot
of teenagers getting pregnant and having sexual transmitted diseases. Personally having an
intimate relationship with ones child under eighteen (18) is not the best choice. In Figure four it
shows that half of the respondents out of twenty-five (25) which is 50% disagree with having an
intimate relationship with ones child under eighteen (18). The 30% agreed with it because of the
countrys age of consent. 20% of them were not sure. Some of the residence explained that there
was this one child that her mother abuse; leaving scars on her skin etc. The researcher understand
that the parent is an alcoholic and smokes a lot which is not healthy for her child.

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FINDINGS

While doing the survey the researcher found out that:

Child Abuse does exist in the community.
Most of the people in the community would actually intervene if they hear a parent
scolding their child.
One major cause of child abuse is when the parent is stressed or the parent is an
alcoholic.
Parents in the community are not spending enough time with their child because of work.

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RECOMMENDATION

What can be done to reduce the incidence of child abuse?

The following are ways that can reduce child abuse:

Get to know your child better. Spend some time with him/her; make the child feel
comfortable around you. This can make the child open up to you without a fear of being
unwanted and judged.
Always show your child love. Tell them you love them. Ask him/her how their day was;
ask them their likes and dislikes.
If you hear or see signs of child abuse dont hesitate to contact the police or the Child
Development Agency.
Always listen to what a child have to say. Even if it is not important show your interest in
what he/she has to say.
Take care of your child. Never neglect them.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Trinidad, Rampersad Ramsawak and Ralph R. Umraw. Modules in Social Studies with
SBA Guide and CXC Questions.

Caribbean Educational Publishers, 2005

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APPENDIX

A child in the community her mother scolded because of not going to the shop to buy cigarettes.

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