Abstract
This is the first study in South Africa to investigate the association of violence against children with human capital development, including short- and long-term health and educational outcomes. Hypotheses were tested by applying logistic regressions, zero inflated poisson regressions, linear regressions and ordered logistic regressions with a large and representative sample of adolescents from the Cape Area Panel Study (CAPS). Household fixed effects model and treatment-effects model were performed to check the robustness of the results. Analyses indicate that 58% of adolescents in South Africa have experienced physical or emotional violence in childhood. All forms of violence, especially physical violence, are associated with adverse physical and mental health, poorer academic achievement and lower education level of the victims in both the short and long term. Adolescent males who have experienced violence in childhood are more likely to report poorer educational outcomes and long-term physical health, while female victims are at higher risk of mental illness. The findings provide support for the negative effects of violence against children on health and educational outcomes, which lead to increasing inequalities that impact on the future development of South Africa. Urgent violence against children prevention programming is needed alongside health and educational initiatives in the country.
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Acknowledgements
The Cape Area Panel Study Waves 1-2-3 were collected between 2002 and 2005 by the University of Cape Town and the University of Michigan, with funding provided by the US National Institute for Child Health and Human Development and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Wave 4 was collected in 2006 by the University of Cape Town, University of Michigan and Princeton University. Major funding for Wave 4 was provided by the National Institute on Aging through a grant to Princeton University, in addition to funding provided by NICHD through the University of Michigan. Wave 5 was collected in 2009 by the Centre for Social Science Research (CSSR) at the University of Cape Town. Major funding for Wave 5 was provided by the Health Economics & HIV/AIDS Research Division (HEARD) at the University of KwaZuluNatal, with additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (through the CSSR at UCT), the European Union (through the Microcon research partnership on the microfoundations of violent conflict, via the CSSR) and the NICHD (through the University of Michigan).
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Zheng, X., Fang, X., Ugboke, H. et al. Violence against Children and Human Capital in South Africa. J Fam Viol 34, 139–151 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-0008-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-018-0008-y