Predictors of Child Maltreatment in South Korea: Results from the 2011 Korea Youth and Child Panel

The increasing number of child maltreatment in South Korea has become an important social issue in South Korea. The current study attempts to examine the factors that predict child maltreatment in South Korea. The study examined child abuse, physical violence, and emotion violence using the most recent data set of Korea Child and Youth Panel (KCYPS), a longitudinal survey following elementary and middle school students in South Korea. . We used the data from the 2011 panel data set. The study found various predictors of child maltreatment. First, factors affecting child abuse were a parents-child relation and father’s education. Second, factors affecting physical violence were a child’s gender and father’s education. Third, factors affecting emotional violence were a child’s gender and their parental level of lower income. The study suggests a need for parental education about adverse effect of child maltreatment on their children’s wellbeing. Community level programs needs to be developed for educating low income fathers who did not have any higher education.