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This factsheet presents key findings from the first-ever Humanitarian Violence Against Children and Youth Survey conducted in refugee settlements across Uganda.
Children learn language in social environments shaped by interactions with caregivers and other adults. Prior research suggests that even brief familiarity with a social partner can facilitate some types of learning, but it remains unclear whether short-term familiarity influences children's word learning. Across two studies, we examined whether short-term familiarity with an experimenter affected children's performance on a novel-label generalization task. In Study 1, younger children (22–37 months) were taught and tested by an experimenter with whom they had completed a 10-min interactive free-play session or a different unfamiliar experimenter. Children performed similarly in the familiar and unfamiliar conditions, and a Bayes-factor analysis provided moderate evidence favoring no difference between conditions. In Study 2, older children (49–69 months) completed blocked training-testing with both familiar and unfamiliar experimenters and a resource-allocation measure of social preference. Children showed a social preference for the familiar experimenter, but their generalization performance did not differ significantly between experimenters; the Bayesian evidence regarding a familiarity effect was inconclusive, although it favored no difference. Together, these findings suggest that brief familiarity can shape children's expressed social preference without producing a corresponding measurable advantage on a structured word-generalization task with equivalent linguistic input.
Jina Ahn, Erica A. Cartmill, Catherine M. Sandhofer
Medication has a limited but meaningful role in the lives of some autistic individuals – not to alter who they are, but to address specific symptoms that interfere with their capacity to engage with the world, form connections, and live according to their own values and goals. As a child neurologist who has spent over a decade building clinical and research programs at the intersection of child neurology, neurogenetics, and autism, I have come to understand that the question of whether to use medication is rarely about the autism itself. It is about sleep that never comes, or anxiety so consuming it prevents a child from crossing the threshold of a classroom, or seizures that interrupt the fragile thread of attention during a conversation. It is also, and this is too often overlooked, about physical health across the lifespan: the gastrointestinal symptoms that go untreated for years, the pain that cannot be communicated but shapes behavior, the cardiovascular and metabolic conditions that emerge in adulthood with insufficient medical attention. This chapter offers a clinician&s;s perspective on the current pharmacological landscape in autism, grounded in the neurodiversity-affirming principle that our goal is never to suppress or change the autistic individual, but to remove specific barriers that stand between them and the social connection, independence, and well-being that this book is dedicated to building. It argues further that this goal must explicitly include individuals with profound autism – those with significant intellectual disability and complex support needs – whose voices have been underrepresented in research while their pharmacological burden has frequently been among the highest. Drawing on a recent comprehensive review of novel therapeutics in autism spectrum disorder published in Neurotherapeutics (Kevelson et al., 2026 ), this chapter situates medication within the larger framework of care described throughout this volume.
Jennifer Bain
The main purpose of this study was to conduct an investigation on the level (extent) of violence against children in school, on types of violence and on the relationship between violence and demographic characteristics of children (gender, residence and age). This study focused on a sample group of 618 children, respectively students of grades 10 to 12 of higher secondary schools in Prishtina, Kosovo. With this sample group a structured questionnaire applied, which was composed of four (4) questions for each of the following types of violence: violence against the property of children and school property, psychological violence, physical violence and sexual violence. Results of this study have shown that approximately 87% of children have experienced, at least, once one type of violence throughout their education. Among these types of violence, violence against the property of children and against school property has been reported the most (73.6%), which is followed by psychological violence (69.3%), then physical violence (47.5%) and sexual violence (22.1%). Data have shown that in the level of reliability α = 0.5, gender as a demographic factor has appeared to be more influential in the prevalence of some types of violence (violence against property, psychological violence and physical violence), residence has appeared to be influential when speaking about physical violence only, while age has been shown to be an influential factor in the prevalence of violence against children in school.
Armen Mustafa
Purpose This study examined the relationships between aerobic fitness, behavioral self-regulation, and mathematics performance in primary school students, and evaluated the effect of a 10-month school-based Physical activity intervention on self-regulation. Methods The Active School study was a ten-month cluster-randomized controlled trial. The sample consisted of 435 students (9–10–years old) in five intervention schools and four control schools. Teachers assessed students’ self-regulation using the Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS), at pre- and post-intervention. Aerobic fitness was assessed with a 10-minute interval running test, and mathematical achievement was determined using Norwegian national standardized tests in mathematics. Results Partial correlations indicated that aerobic fitness was significantly correlated with self-regulation ( r = 0.22, p < .001) and with mathematics scores ( r = 0.17, p < 0.01). Linear mixed models showed that self-regulation was consistently positively associated with mathematics performance (B = 0.54, (95%) CI [0.44, 0.64], p < 0.001). Aerobic fitness was positively associated with mathematics performance in partially adjusted models (B = 0.15, (95%) CI [0.006, 0.23], p < 0.001) but this association was no longer significant after adjusting for gender (B = −3.69, (95%) CI [−5.47, −1.19], p < 0.001). No significant improvements in students’ behavioral self-regulation compared to the control group were observed. Conclusion The findings suggest that while cognitive-behavioral processes strongly drive academic performance, standard school-based physical activity programs may lack the necessary cognitive complexity to enhance independent self-regulatory capacities in fifth-grade students.
Silje Eikanger Kvalø, Megan M. McClelland, Edvin Bru et al.
This factsheet presents key findings from the second-ever Humanitarian Violence Against Children and Youth Survey conducted in refugee camps across Ethiopia.
This study examines domestic violence against children as a complex and largely hidden social phenomenon embedded in everyday family life. The focus is placed on various forms of child abuse, including physical and psychological violence, as well as their perception in public consciousness. Particular attention is given to the prevalence of such practices at the regional level and public attitudes towards them. The research explores the conditions under which violence is either condemned or partially justified as a method of child-rearing, along with the factors contributing to its persistence, including family traditions, cultural norms, and individual life experience. Special emphasis is placed on identifying the relationship between the social conditions of family life and the acceptability of violent practices in child upbringing. The empirical basis of the study consists of data obtained from a sociological survey conducted among the population of the Republic of Mordovia using a combined methodology, including face-to-face interviews and online questionnaires. The scientific novelty of the study lies in revealing the contradiction between the declared rejection of violence against children and the actual acceptance of certain forms of it in everyday parenting practices. The findings show that, despite general disapproval, some respondents consider the use of physical and psychological methods acceptable in specific situations. The study also demonstrates the influence of such factors as alcohol consumption within the family and personal experience of childhood abuse on the formation of tolerant attitudes toward violence. It is concluded that violent practices tend to be reproduced across generations, which highlights the need for preventive measures aimed at transforming social attitudes and strengthening child protection policies. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that sustain violent behavioral patterns within the family environment.
Anna Ivanovna Efimova
Background Although health-promoting behaviors and health literacy may be protective factors against Social network addiction symptoms, little is known about the mechanisms underlying these interactions. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between health promotion and social network addiction symptoms among adolescents and to examine the mediating role of health literacy in this relationship. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 475 adolescents aged 15–18 years recruited from four secondary schools in Beni-Suef Governorate, Egypt, using a multistage random sampling technique. A demographic questionnaire, the Short-Form Adolescent Health Promotion Scale (SF-AHPS), the Health Literacy for School-Aged Children (HLSAC) scale, and the Social Network Addiction Scale (SNAS) were used to gather data between February and April of 2026. Results The average scores were 30.04 ± 8.53 for social network addiction symptoms, 31.02 ± 4.85 for health literacy, and 70.61 ± 10.69 for health promotion. Health promotion was positively correlated with health literacy ( r = 0.327, p < 0.0001) and negatively correlated with social network addiction symptoms ( r = −0.117, p = 0.011). Health literacy was also negatively correlated with social network addiction symptoms ( r = −0.229, p < 0.001). A cross-sectional statistical mediation model showed that health promotion was positively associated with health literacy ( β = 0.299, p < 0.001), whereas health literacy significantly associated with lower social network addiction symptoms ( β = −0.277, p < 0 0.001). While the indirect effect through health literacy was significant [ β = −0.083, BootSE = 0.019, 95% CI (−0.122, −0.048)], suggesting a significant indirect association through health literacy, while the direct association was not statistically significant ( β = −0.020, p = 0.664). Conclusion Health literacy showed a significant indirect statistical association between health promotion and social network addiction symptoms among adolescents. Adolescents with higher health-promoting behaviors demonstrated better health literacy, which in turn was associated with lower levels of social network addiction symptoms.
Shaimaa Mohamed Amin, Sameer A. Alkubati, Halla Ali Abd El hie Ali et al.
Background The rapid expansion of online music streaming platforms has transformed adolescents’ everyday media practices, making music consumption increasingly individualized, algorithmically curated, and socially networked. While existing scholarship has established the importance of music in adolescent identity formation and emotional regulation, considerably less attention has been devoted to understanding how digitally mediated music listening influences communication within families. As digital-native adolescents increasingly consume music through platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, parents—many of whom remain digital immigrants—face new opportunities and challenges in maintaining meaningful communication with their children. This study investigates whether shared digital music listening constitutes a communicative practice capable of strengthening parent–adolescent relationships. Rather than examining music consumption solely as an individual behavior, the study conceptualizes shared streaming experiences as an interactional process through which emotional exchange, cultural identity, and intergenerational understanding are negotiated. Methods Drawing upon a mixed-methods dataset comprising 500 Turkish Cypriot adolescents aged 14–17 (400 quantitative; 100 qualitative), the study integrates responses from a 22-item Music Listening Habits Questionnaire, the Parent–Adolescent Communication Scale (PACS), and qualitative relational content analysis. Pearson correlation analysis was employed to examine associations between shared music listening practices and communication quality, while qualitative coding explored participants’ perceptions of family music experiences. Results Quantitative findings demonstrate a statistically significant moderate positive relationship between the frequency of shared music listening with parents and parent–adolescent communication quality ( r = 0.455, p < 0.01). Qualitative evidence further indicates that shared listening to culturally meaningful Turkish Cypriot music facilitates emotional openness, mutual understanding, and constructive family conversations. Although adolescents predominantly accessed music through Spotify and YouTube, the communicative value of music depended less on platform choice than on opportunities for shared engagement and discussion. Conclusion The study advances Uses and Gratifications Theory by extending its application from individual media gratification toward shared family media practices. It proposes that digital music streaming can function as an intergenerational communication resource capable of narrowing the communicative divide between digital-native adolescents and digital-immigrant parents. By integrating media studies, communication research, and music psychology, the article offers a culturally grounded framework for understanding how shared digital listening contributes to healthier family relationships in contemporary media environments.
Ozgur Tosun
<p dir="ltr">Background: Violence against children undermines children's rights and their development into autonomous people. Public health agendas must prioritise our understanding of this preventable health threat and inform its prevention. The Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region has some of the highest prevalences of child violence-related injuries globally. Yet, knowledge of its burden and prevention is scarce in the region, including in Mozambique.</p><p dir="ltr">Aim: The thesis aims are twofold: to increase knowledge of the burden of violence- related injuries among children in the SSA region and Mozambique and to shed light on whether the prerequisites are in place for Mozambican stakeholders to engage and succeed in the prevention of all forms of violence against children. Each aim is addressed by two complementary studies.</p><p dir="ltr">Methods: The first two papers are register-based, and the following two are based on primary data gathered through interviews. Paper I is a cross-country (SSA region), ecological study based on data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study (latest data available at the time of the study). The outcome was the trend in child violence-related death and DALYs and its correlation with risk factors. Descriptive statistics compiled trends over the past 30 years and Spearman's rank correlation test for the association with alcohol consumption per capita. Paper II was cross-sectional and hospital-based. Outcomes were forms of child violence-related injuries presented at the paediatric emergency and forensic unit of the Maputo Central Hospital in Mozambique. Data were extracted from medical records (2019) using a standardised Case Report Form. Descriptive analysis and chi-square tests were performed. Paper III addressed community readiness to prevent child maltreatment based on the WHO Readiness Assessment for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment-Individual questionnaire with stakeholders from national agencies and in Maputo. The questionnaire-specific scoring system and descriptive analysis were performed. Paper IV was qualitative descriptive research exploring frontline practitioners' experiences with the implementation and enforcement of child protection laws in local services in Maputo City. An inductive approach and thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke were used.</p><p dir="ltr">Results: The SSA region registered a decline in child violence-related deaths and DALYs rates between 1990 and 2019, 22.5% and 22.3%, respectively. In Mozambique, death and DALYs rates declined 22.7% and 25.3%, respectively, that the country in 2019 to match the regional average rates in 2019. A significant correlation was seen between alcohol consumption and child interpersonal violence for both death and DALYs in 2019 (r=0.446, p<0.001 and r=0.435, p<0.001, respectively) (Paper I). Among the 321 cases of child violence-related injuries treated at the hospital over one year, sexual violence was the most common form (59.5%), followed by physical violence (40.5%). While girls were the most common victims of the former (female-to-male ratio of 6.35), boys were of the latter (male- to-female ratio of 1.95). Children of both sexes sustained multiple injuries but not severe injuries due to physical violence, mainly bruises to the head or upper limbs. Girls who were victims of sexual violence suffered more serious injuries, of the kind that required surgery or intensive care (Paper II). Mozambique is at the preparation stage of prevention of child maltreatment, with a total average score of readiness of 5.4 (for a maximum of 10) according to information from professionals in the child protection sector at national and local levels. Low scores were observed in resources, scientific data, and programmes (Paper III). Through interviews with frontline practitioners, two themes were identified. The first related to barriers encountered in the implementation and enforcement of child protection laws: limited resources, a weak organisational system, legal gaps and constraints, and norms and attitudes. The second theme concerned the facilitators: resourceful support from NGOs and a favourable working environment (Paper IV).</p><p dir="ltr">Conclusion: Findings from this thesis indicate that, albeit declining, the rates of child violence-related injuries remain higher both in SSA and in Mozambique than the global average, despite the significant reduction in death and DALYs rates in the past three decades. Sexual violence, typically sustained by girls, was the most frequent form of violence among child victims seeking hospital care in Maputo Central Hospital. Mozambique is in early stages of readiness to prevent child maltreatment. Child protection services in Maputo lack the capacity to implement and enforce child protection laws to protect children from violence, mainly at the local level.</p><h3>List of scientific papers</h3><p dir="ltr">I. Trends and demographic differences in interpersonal violence against children in sub-Saharan Africa: findings from the 1990-2019 Global Burden of Disease Study. <b>Sergio Nhassengo</b>, Lucie Laflamme, Mathilde Sengoelge, GBD 2019 SSA Child Interpersonal Violence. BMJ Open. 2025;15:e083070. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-083070">https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-083070</a></p><p dir="ltr">II. Circumstances and Consequences of Violence-Related Injuries Presenting at Hospital. A Study at the Pediatric Emergency and Forensic Medicine Units of Maputo Central Hospital, Mozambique. <b>Sérgio Keita </b><b>Nhassengo</b>, Stela Ocuane Matsinhe, Eunice Jethá and Lucie Laflamme. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2021, 18, 12125. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212125">https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182212125</a></p><p dir="ltr">III. Community readiness to prevent child maltreatment in Mozambique: An investigation among key informants at country level and from Maputo city. <b>Sergio Nhassengo</b>, Lucie Laflamme, Mathilde Sengoelge. Children and Youth Services Review. 176 (2025) 108400. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108400">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108400</a></p><p dir="ltr">IV. Frontline practitioners' perspective of the implementation of child protection laws and prevention of violence against children in Maputo, Mozambique. <b>Sergio Nhassengo</b>, Stela Ocuane Matsinhe, Eunice Jetha, Mathilde Sengoelge, Lucie Laflamme and Asli Kulane. [Submitted]</p>
Sergio Nhassengo
