Background and purpose: Violence against children and adolescents is a worldwide concern that has always received much attention. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between child maltreatment in family and behavioral problems in high school adolescents in Kermanshah. Material and methods: In a cross-sectional study, 193 boys and girls studying in high school in Kermanshah were selected through multi Stage sampling. Adolescent self-report form of behavioral problems and self-report scale for measuring child maltreatment was used. Data was analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression. Results: The mean age of the participants was 15.75 ±0.85. There was no significant relationship between gender and child maltreatment (P>0.269). But, significant difference was seen in neglect subscale and gender (P<0.046). All aspects of behavioral problems were observed more in girls. Pearson correlation analysis showed a significant correlation between child maltreatment and behavioral problems and its subscales (P<0.001). Regression analysis showed that 38.1% of the changes related to behavioral problems in students could be explained via a linear combination of emotional and sexual abuse. Conclusion: There was a significant correlation between child maltreatment and behavioral problems. More qualitative studies are recommended to investigate child abuse in different regional and ethnic contexts.

Keywords: Child maltreatment, behavioral problems, high school students

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