Finding the Causal Relationship between Child Abuse and Teenage Pregnancy: Perspectives of the Crawford University Students in Nigeria

Poverty has become a general household problem in every home in Nigeria. It has prompted the occurrences of other social problems like crime, insecurity and abuse, especially the abuse of the minor (Children) in the society. The abuse of the children has become a platform for the problem of teenage pregnancy among the female children in Nigeria. With sampled students (n =180) from a Nigerian Private University, this paper examined the perspectives of the university students on causal relationship between child abuse and teenage pregnancy. The University of our case study was purposively selected, while convenience sampling was used in selecting the students who participated in the study. Frequency distribution and percentage were used as method of data analyses, while chi-square method was used in testing the hypotheses stated in the study. The information and the data gathered from the students through the questionnaire, which was our research instrument, reflected that child abuse and teenage pregnancy were overwhelmingly acknowledged as social problems in Nigeria. The hypotheses tested showed a causal relationship between poverty and teenage pregnancy, child neglect and teenage pregnancy, and child abuse of all forms and teenage pregnancy. The study recommends pro active interventions from the parents, the government, the non-governmental organizations and religious bodies in Nigeria, in curbing the problem of child abuse and teenage pregnancy. The implications of these were discussed in this paper.