Page No – 98-105
Sushma Pandey
D.D.U. Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur
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The study aimed to investigate the role of child abuse, residential setting and
gender in cognitive functioning of children. Child Abuse Checklist was used to
identify abused and non-abused groups of children. Memory Span Test and
Culture Fair Intelligence Test were used to assess the levels of working memory
and intelligence in children. Results revealed that child abuse caused adverse
impact on cognitive functioning of children. Working memory and intelligence
level were found inferior in abused children as compared to non-abused
counterparts. Urban children scored higher on cognitive measures than rural
children. Gender effect was found partially significant. Though, girls were found
inferior on working memory, however, on level of intellect boys and girls did not
differ significantly. The roles of contextual variations and parental treatment of
children in the course of cognitive development is discussed.