Determinants of severe physical disciplinary practices against children in Egypt

Although nearly 43 % of Egyptian children aged less than 14 years had ever experienced severe physical violent punishment at home, no previous studies identified the predictors of the practice in Egypt.

This research aims at identifying the determinants of the use of any severe violent physical practice to discipline children.

The latest national Egyptian Demographic and Health Survey is the main source of data. The caregivers of 13024 children were interviewed.

A binary logistic regression model is developed to identify the determinants of the use of severe physical disciplinary practices.

Results show that children whose parents believe that physical punishment is necessary to discipline children are more likely to experience severe violence (OR = 3.3). Children in the preprimary stage have a high odds ratio of experiencing a severe violent punishment compared to those in preparatory and secondary stages (OR = 3.5). Children whose mothers have experienced domestic physical violence are more likely to be subject to severe physical violence (OR = 1.6 for husband violence, and 1.4 for parents/siblings violence). Children living in Urban Lower Egypt are approximately twice likely as children living in urban governorates to be subject to severe physical violence. Children living in the poorest households are the most likely to experience severe physical violence.

Severe violent disciplinary practice inside the home is common in Egypt. The findings urge for activating Egyptian Child Law and implementing continuous training programs for parents on positive parenting.