{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T06:00:24Z","timestamp":1785218424450,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785196800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Child sexual abuse (CSA) remains a major but underreported public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where sociocultural stigma, family dynamics, and weak institutional responses limit prevention and timely intervention. In northern Nigeria, empirical evidence particularly mixed-methods research remains scarce.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A mixed-methods study was conducted among 350 secondary school adolescents recruited in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria, using stratified random sampling. Of the 350 recruited, 308 provided complete quantitative data and formed the analytic sample for prevalence and regression analyses. Quantitative data were collected through structured questionnaires assessing CSA experiences, sociodemographic factors, and disclosure patterns. Qualitative data were obtained through 25 in-depth interviews purposively selected from among adolescents who had reported CSA experiences in the survey, to explore perceptions, barriers to disclosure, and responses following abuse. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression, while qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      CSA was prevalent among participants (24.4%), with female adolescents exhibiting significantly higher odds of exposure compared to males (OR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.12\u20132.96). Adolescents from divorced or separated households were significantly more vulnerable (AOR = 6.12, 95% CI: 3.45\u201310.85,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001). Disclosure rates were low (37.3%), and qualitative findings revealed that disclosures were frequently met with disbelief, silence, or minimization, particularly when perpetrators were family members or authority figures.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>CSA poses a substantial threat to adolescent wellbeing in Sokoto Metropolis, with gender and family instability playing critical roles in risk exposure and disclosure behavior. Persistent barriers to disclosure highlight systemic and cultural gaps in child protection mechanisms. Culturally sensitive, gender-responsive interventions that strengthen family support structures and improve institutional trust are urgently needed to reduce CSA and enhance survivor support.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1805885","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]],"date-time":"2026-07-28T05:37:47Z","timestamp":1785217067000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Disclosure pathways and correlates of child sexual abuse among secondary school adolescents in Sokoto metropolis, Nigeria"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Memunat","family":"Omar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Nigeria","place":["Sokoto, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Awosan Kehinde","family":"Joseph","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Nigeria","place":["Sokoto, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Auwal Usman","family":"Abubakar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Nigeria","place":["Sokoto, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Khadijat Omeneke","family":"Isezuo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Nigeria","place":["Sokoto, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Asma'u","family":"Adamu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Nigeria","place":["Sokoto, Nigeria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"864","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijnurstu.2014.10.017","article-title":"The public health crisis of child sexual abuse in low and middle income countries: an integrative review of the literature","volume":"52","author":"Veenema","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int J Nurs Stud."},{"key":"B2","article-title":"Challenges facing Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) in their roles of identifying and responding to victims of Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) in Nigeria","author":"M","year":"2023"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3597","DOI":"10.1177\/15248380241254077","article-title":"Child sexual abuse in Nigeria: a systematic review","volume":"25","author":"Ifayomi","year":"2024","journal-title":"Trauma Violence Abuse."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.47231\/CLMK7148","article-title":"Review of child and adolescent sexual abuse in nigeria: implications for 21st century counsellors","author":"Abiodun","year":"2020","journal-title":"Covenant Int J Psychol"},{"key":"B5","first-page":"109","article-title":"Prevalence and management of child sexual abuse cases presented at Nigerian hospitals: a systematic review","volume":"3","author":"Akin-Odanye","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Health Soc Sci."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"332","DOI":"10.4172\/2157-7145.1000332","article-title":"Child sexual abuse in fayoum Governorate, Egypt (2010-2014)","volume":"7","author":"Mwaheb","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Forensic Res."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"24","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-698X-13-24","article-title":"Prevalence of sexual abuse of male high school students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia","volume":"13","author":"Haile","year":"2013","journal-title":"BMC Int Health Hum Rights"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"92","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2458-14-92","article-title":"Time to presentation, pattern and immediate health effects of alleged child sexual abuse at two tertiary hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia","volume":"14","author":"Girgira","year":"2014","journal-title":"BMC Public Health."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"261","DOI":"10.11604\/pamj.2016.24.261.9172","article-title":"Trends and pat terns of sexual assaults in Lagos south western Nigeria","volume":"24","author":"J Ezechi","year":"2016","journal-title":"Pan Afr Med J"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1186\/1472-6874-14-115","article-title":"Sexual assault in La gos, Nigeria: a five year retrospective review","volume":"14","author":"Akinlusi","year":"2014","journal-title":"BMC Womens Health."},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"247","DOI":"10.1179\/2046905513Y.0000000089","article-title":"Akinboboye O. 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