20 research outputs found
Supplemental material for this article is available online.
No full textSupplemental Material for Factors Contributing to Violent Discipline in the Classroom: Findings From a Representative Sample of Primary School Teachers in Tanzania by Faustine Bwire Masath, Laura Hinze, Mabula Nkuba, and Tobias Hecker, in Journal of Interpersonal Violence</p
Violent discipline in families and schools and violence by peers among children of Tanzania: Prevalence, risk factors, consequences, and prevention approaches
No full textMasath FB. Violent discipline in families and schools and violence by peers among children of Tanzania: Prevalence, risk factors, consequences, and prevention approaches. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2022
Psychopathology mediates between maltreatment and memory functioning in Burundian refugee youth
No full textScharpf F, Mueller SC, Masath FB, Nkuba M, Hecker T. Psychopathology mediates between maltreatment and memory functioning in Burundian refugee youth. Child Abuse & Neglect. 2021;118: 105165
Prevalence of and factors contributing to violent discipline in families and its association with violent discipline by teachers and peer violence
No full textMasath FB, Nkuba M, Hecker T. Prevalence of and factors contributing to violent discipline in families and its association with violent discipline by teachers and peer violence. Child Abuse Review. 2022;32(4): e2799.Using a multi-informant approach, we assessed 914 children (mean age = 12.58 years, standard deviation [SD] = 1.43) and 893 caregivers (98.3 per cent female, mean age = 40.07 years, SD = 11.46) in Tanzania. Results showed that 93.3 per cent (n = 828/893) of caregivers reported using violent discipline, while 91.0 per cent (n = 832/914) of the children experienced it in their families. Further, 95.0 per cent (n = 868/914) and 93.7 per cent (n = 853/914) of students experienced violent discipline by teachers and peer violence at school, respectively. In a multilevel path model, children's mental health problems (standardised regression coefficient [beta] = 0.192 [CI: 0.130, 0.255], p < 0.001) were associated with their experience of violent discipline in families. Caregivers' own childhood experience of violent discipline (beta = 0.169 [CI: 0.105, 0.232], p < 0.001), their positive attitudes towards violent discipline (beta = 0.228 [CI: 0.166, 0.290], p < 0.001) and mental health problems (beta = 0.175 [CI: 0.113, 0.237], p < 0.001) were associated with their use of violent discipline. Violent discipline in families significantly correlated with violent discipline by teachers (correlation coefficient [r] = 0.413 [CI: 0.354, 0.472], p < 0.001) and peer violence (r = 0.354 [CI: 0.294, 0.415], p < 0.001) implying children's polyvictimisation
Exploring the cycle of violence: Own childhood experiences of violence and attitudes towards violence relate to female caregivers’ violent discipline
No full textBackground: Violence against children, including violent discipline, is widespread globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries like Tanzania. However, evidence supporting the cycle of violence hypothesis in nations with a high prevalence of violent discipline is still scarce, especially concerning female caregivers. Objective: This study examined the association of female caregivers’ experiences of violent discipline in their childhood, as well as their approval of violent discipline, with their use of violent discipline against their children. Participants and setting: A total of 851 female caregivers (Mean (M) Age = 40.00 years, Standard Deviation (SD) Age = 11.392, Range: 17–91 years) of children (MAge = 12.58 years, SDAge = 1.43, Range: 8–18 years) participated in a cluster-randomised controlled trial aimed at preventing violent discipline by teachers in 12 schools across six regions of Tanzania. Methods: Binary logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association of female caregivers with and without experience of violent discipline in their childhood and those approving and not approving violent discipline with their use of physical and emotional violent discipline against their children. Results: More than 90 % of female caregivers reported having experienced violent discipline during their childhood. Also, about 95 % of female caregivers reported favourable attitudes towards violent discipline, 72.2 % had used one or more forms of physical violent discipline, and 84.8 % had used one or more forms of emotional violent discipline against their children in the past month. Female caregivers with a childhood experience of violent discipline and those with favourable attitudes towards violent discipline were significantly more likely to use both physical and emotional violent discipline (p < .05) against their child(ren). Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for designing and implementing effective interventions that challenge societal norms and practices endorsing violent discipline while promoting the education of female caregivers. This approach could decrease instances of violent discipline within families and help break the cycle of violence
Reducing violent discipline by teachers using Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol for a matched cluster randomized controlled trial in Tanzanian public primary schools
No full textMasath FB, Hermenau K, Nkuba M, Hecker T. Reducing violent discipline by teachers using Interaction Competencies with Children for Teachers (ICC-T): study protocol for a matched cluster randomized controlled trial in Tanzanian public primary schools. Trials. 2020;21(1): 4.Despite the existing national and international plans of action to end violent discipline strategies used by teachers in schools, they still prevail in Tanzanian schools. This underlines the need to implement school-based interventions that aim at reducing violent discipline by teachers. In this study, we will evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the preventative intervention Interaction Competencies with Children – for Teachers (ICC-T) in Tanzanian primary schools. Following its success in secondary schools, we hypothesize that the intervention will reduce teachers’ positive attitudes towards and their use of violent discipline at school
Mental health problems moderate the association between teacher violence and children's social status in East Africa: A multi-informant study combining self- and peer-reports.
No full textHecker T, Dumke L, Neuner F, Masath FB. Mental health problems moderate the association between teacher violence and children's social status in East Africa: A multi-informant study combining self- and peer-reports. Development and psychopathology. 2021.School victimization has been negatively associated with children's social status. However, previous studies have primarily focused on peer victimization, leaving a significant knowledge gap regarding violence by teachers. We hypothesized that, when almost all children experience violence by teachers, not only the experience of violence, but also other factors, for example, mental health problems, may influence children's social preference and centrality. We therefore examined potential moderation effects of children's internalizing and externalizing problems. We implemented a multistage cluster randomized sampling approach to randomly chose fifth- and sixth-grade students from primary schools throughout Tanzania. Using a multi-informant approach, data were collected from 643 children (51.0% girls, Mage = 12.79 years). Results showed inconsistent direct associations between teacher violence and social status, whereas mental health problems were consistently associated with lower social status. Significant interaction effects were found for internalizing problems; that is, teacher violence was associated with lower social status for increasing internalizing problems. However, no interaction effects were found for externalizing problems. The findings underline the burden of exposure to violence by teachers and the importance of mental health for children's social functioning. Knowledge about interrelations can be applied in interventions to effectively reduce violence by teachers toward students
A socio-ecological analysis of risk, protective and promotive factors for the mental health of Burundian refugee children living in refugee camps
No full textScharpf F, Mkinga G, Masath FB, Hecker T. A socio-ecological analysis of risk, protective and promotive factors for the mental health of Burundian refugee children living in refugee camps. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 2020.Abstract
Children and adolescents’ mental health risk and resilience arise from a complex interplay of factors on several socio-ecological levels. However, little is known about the factors that shape the mental health of refugee youth living in refugee camps close to ongoing conflict. We conducted a cross-sectional study with a representative sample of 217 Burundian refugee children aged 7–15 and their mothers residing in refugee camps in Tanzania to investigate associations between risk, protective and promotive factors from various ecological levels (individual, microsystem, exosystem), and children’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, internalizing and externalizing problems, and prosocial behavior. Data were collected using structured clinical interviews and analyzed using multiple regression models. Exposure to violence across all contexts and engagement coping were risk factors for PTSD symptoms and internalizing problems, while only violence by mothers seemed to increase children’s vulnerability for externalizing problems. A differential impact of violence exposures on prosocial behavior was observed. Higher-quality friendships appeared to protect youth from PTSD symptoms and externalizing problems, while they also promoted children’s prosocial behavior, just as mothers’ social support networks. Prevention and intervention approaches should integrate risk, protective and promotive factors for refugee youth’s mental health across multiple ecological contexts and take into account context-specific and adaptive responses to war and displacement.</jats:p
Pre-primary school children’s psychological wellbeing and their association with Kiswahili pre-reading outcomes in Tanzania
No full textThis study examined the association between psychological wellbeing and acquisition of Kiswahili pre-reading skills among pre-primary school children in Tanzania. It employed cross-sectional design and 403 pre-primary school children aged 5–7 years from 12 pre-primary schools in the country. Results revealed that 28% (n = 111) of children had psychological difficulties with conduct problems being the most prevalent among them. Meanwhile, 58% (n = 235) of the studied children scored below average on Kiswahili pre-reading skills test. Results of One-Way ANOVA analysis indicated significant differences in pre-primary school children’s mean scores on the level of psychological wellbeing (F (2,400) = 53.315, p<.001, η2 = .210)) and Kiswahili pre-reading skills (F (2,400) = 156.685, p < .001, η2 = .439)) between districts. Results of hierarchical regression indicated that internalizing (β = −.09) and externalizing (β = −.21) variables were significantly correlated with acquisition of Kiswahili pre-reading skills (ps<.05). The model variables explained 46% of the variance in pre-primary school children’s acquisition of Kiswahili pre-reading skills. Results confirm that psychological wellbeing significantly influences pre-primary school children’s acquisition of Kiswahili pre-reading skills. The study recommends intervention strategies to enhance pre-primary school children’s psychological wellbeing and Kiswahili pre-reading skills should be devised and implemented
Reducing Violent Discipline by Teachers: a Matched Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Tanzanian Public Primary Schools
No full textMasath FB, Mattonet K, Hermenau K, Nkuba M, Hecker T. Reducing Violent Discipline by Teachers: a Matched Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Tanzanian Public Primary Schools. Prevention Science. 2023;24:999–1010.Violent discipline in schools infringes on children’s rights and is associated with harmful developmental consequences for students. This calls for effective intervention programs, particularly in countries with high prevalence of violent discipline in schools. This study tested the effectiveness of the preventative intervention Interaction Competencies with Children—for Teachers (ICC-T) in reducing violent discipline by teachers in a two-arm matched cluster-randomized controlled trial. The sample comprised teachers (n = 173, 53.7% female) and students (n = 914, 50.5% girls) from 12 public primary schools from six regions in Tanzania. Teacher physical and emotional violent discipline reported by teachers and students was assessed before and six to eight and a half months after the intervention. The schools were randomly allocated to either intervention (6; ICC-T) or control condition (6; no intervention). Teachers were not blinded. Students and research assistants conducting the follow-up assessment were blinded. A series of multivariate multilevel models revealed significant time*intervention effects on physical violent discipline reported by teachers and students and teachers’ favorable attitudes towards physical
violent discipline, FDRs .05, teachers’ favorable attitudes towards emotional violent discipline or on student’s internalizing problems and academic performance, ps > .05. Our results provide further evidence that ICC-T may positively change teachers’ violent disciplining behavior and their attitudes towards violent discipline. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03893851
