According to a 2020 Word Health Organization report, nearly 300 million children aged 2-4 years experience corporal and/or psychological punishment at the hands of families. In 2018, the Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection found that 62% of girls and boys in Indonesia had experienced violence in their lives, and 41% of 15-year-olds had experienced bullying, both physical and psychological. Given the epidemiological data, interventions are needed to minimize the number of cases of violence against children, including verbal violence. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of maternal knowledge about verbal abuse in preschool-aged children (3-6 years) and the characteristics affecting this in Kuningan Regency in 2021. Total sampling was used to recruit 75 mothers. Data were collected through a questionnaire, and univariate and bivariate analyses were conducted. The results indicated that 28 mothers (37.3%) had sufficient knowledge, 52 (69.3%) were aged 20-35 years, 53 (70.7%) had multipara parity, 29 (28.7%) had an intermediate education, and 66 (88%) were of low economic status. Age and education were found to have a significant relationship with knowledge about verbal abuse (p = 0.01 for both); however, parity and economic status did not have a significant influence. Based on this research, health workers, especially midwives, should improve parenting counseling in brides-to-be so that their knowledge increases so as to build closeness between mother and children.
Keywords: level of knowledge, verbal abuse, mother