The Impact of Child Abuse on Primary Students Academic Performance

Abstract

Research Question: How does child abuse impact the academic performance of primary students? Introduction Child abuse and negligence is a social concern that stirs hot debates across the globe. When a child experiences some form of abuse or negligence while growing up, they tend to react towards such experiences defining negative outcomes on their overall well-being. The current study aims at examining the extent of damage that child abuse may have on the child’s academic performance during the primary education life. While using mixed method approach, this study will investigate how child abuse impact the academic performance of primary students and offer substantial recommendations on how to curb such experiences from affecting these young minds. The first concept is the relationship between child abuse and neglect and poor academic performance amongst primary students. Chitiyo & Pietrantoni (2019) argues that children who experience physical, sexual, emotional, or psychological abuse are more likely to experience negative effects on their academic achievement. Abused children typically perform poorly academically, which is largely due to difficulties concentrating on their education. It is unfortunate that when guardians or parents bring up kids in undeserving environments, they do not seem to understand the extent of damage such an upbringing may have on the child. Since children tend to embrace what is offered to them, they take the abuses and react to them with divide concentrations as their mental and psychological well-being proves disrupted. Herrenkohl, Hashmi & Lowenthal, (2021); and Dlamini & Makondo, (2017) conducted research to understand the extent of effects child abuse has on pupils academic performance. In their analysis, these authors noted that different children react differently to child abuse in the course of their living. Raped children tend to fear anything to do with opposite sex in their life while the physically abused with beatings, lack of basic needs among others tend to generate a negative attitude towards life and those around them. Nevertheless, any form of child abuse whether physical, psychological or emotional tends to have adverse effect on the child’s well-being with their mental state being seriously compromised. Unfortunately, the end result tends to have adverse effect...