Table 1. Socio-demographic description of the samples.
| Mal | Con | Between-groups Differences | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N. Tot | 24 | 20 | - | |
| N. male | 12 | 9 | X(1) = 0.11, p = .741 | |
| Age (years) | 7.71 SE 0.32 | 7.35 SE 0.38 | t42 = 0.73; p = .472 | |
| Age range (years) | 5–10 | 5–10 | - | |
| Schooling (years) | 2.50 SE 0.27 | 2 SE 0.23 | t42 = 1.38; p = .174 | |
| BNT score | 11.33 SE 0.98 | 12.60 SE 0.90 | t42 = -0.94; p = .35 | |
| CPM score | 18.66 SE 0.83 | 18.65 SE 0.82 | t42 = 0.01; p = .99 | |
| First Language (%) * | Temne | 54.17 | 5 | X(8) = 23.74, p = .003 |
| Mende | 20.83 | 10 | ||
| Limba | 8.33 | 50 | ||
| Krio | 0 | 10 | ||
| English | 0 | 0 | ||
| Other | 16.67 | 25 | ||
| Homeless children (%) | 100 | 0 | - | |
| Daytime spent on the street (hours) * | 7.96 SE 0.55 | 2.8 SE 0.22 | t42 = 7.84; p <.001 | |
| Night-time spent on the street (hours) * | 8.38 SE 0.68 | 0.15 SE 0.11 | t42 = 10.5; p <.001 | |
| Street-activities (%) | Provide food and shelter * | 75 | 15 | X(1) = 15.7, p <.001 |
| Work * | 75 | 0 | X(1) = 25.4, p <.001 | |
| Robberies * | 66.67 | 0 | X(1) = 20.9, p <.001 | |
| Play | 83.33 | 90 | X(1) = 0.41, p = .521 | |
| Health care coverage (%) a * | 33.33 | 85 | X(1) = 11.8, p <.001 | |
| Access to basic needs (%) b * | 25 | 90 | X(1) = 18.6, p <.001 | |
| Critical life events (%) | Physical Abuse * | 62.5 | 10 | X(1) = 5.95, p = .015 |
| Sexual Abuse * | 12.50 | 0 | X(1) = 2.68, p = .101 | |
| Physical&Sexual Abuses * | 12.50 | 0 | X(1) = 2.68, p = .101 | |
| Mourning | 75 | 50 | X(1) = 2.95, p = .086 | |
| Presence of an Adult Caregiver (%) * | 8.33 | 100 | X(1) = 36.67, p <.001 | |
| Monthly family Income in Leone (%) * | <200,000 SLL | 100 | 10 | X(3) = 33.4, p <.001 |
| 200,000–500,000 SLL | 0 | 25 | ||
| 500,000–700,000 SLL | 0 | 35 | ||
| >700,000 SLL | 0 | 15 | ||
| Caregivers' Schooling (years) | - | 4,6 SE 0.23 | - | |
| Caregivers' Employment (%) | Full-time salaried jobs c | - | 10 | - |
| Occasional job | - | 20 | - | |
| Trader | - | 30 | - | |
| Driver | - | 5 | - | |
| Artisan | - | 15 | - | |
| Miner | - | 20 | - |
Maltreated children (Mal) and controls (Con) socio-demographic characteristics. Numbers may not add to total due to missing data or rounding. BNT: Boston Naming Test; CPM: Colored Progressive Matrices; SLL: Sierra Leonean Leone, currency of Sierra Leone.
* p < 0.05.
a–Health care coverage was defined as children’s access to preventive healthcare (i.e., vaccination, disease screening, malaria protection) and basic disease treatments (i.e., treatment of malaria, fever and diarrhea).
b–Access of basic needs was defined as children’s possibility to obtain adequate food, clean water, clothes and shelter.
c—Full-time salaried jobs include physician, nurse, educator, employee, social worker.