The invisible scars: a critical perspective on the social-behavioral impact of emotional abuse in Ugandan students.

Authors

Florence Patricia Nakacwa

Published in

Frontiers in psychology. Volume 17. Pages 1902178. Epub Sep 23, 2026.

Abstract

School-based emotional abuse remains an under-recognized form of childhood adversity within many educational settings, despite growing evidence of its potential influence on students' psychosocial wellbeing. This qualitative study explored how students and school personnel in six primary and secondary schools in Entebbe Municipality, Wakiso District, Uganda, described and interpreted experiences of emotional abuse and their perceived social and behavioral consequences.
A descriptive qualitative design was employed. Forty-six participants were purposively recruited, comprising 28 students aged 12-18 years, 12 teachers, and six school counselors. Data were generated through 22 semi-structured individual interviews, four student focus group discussions involving six participants each, and 10 supplementary open-ended questionnaires. Data were analyzed inductively using Braun and Clarke's (2006, 2019) six-phase Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Data collection and preliminary analysis proceeded concurrently, and saturation was judged to have been reached when successive interviews and focus groups generated no new codes, sub-categories, or distinct contextual variations.
Participants described emotional abuse through corporal punishment accompanied by humiliation, public shaming, peer bullying and exclusion, and perceived teacher neglect. These experiences were associated in participants' accounts with anxiety, emotional withdrawal, reduced classroom participation, school avoidance, interpersonal difficulties, and anger or other externalizing responses. Recurring contextual patterns concerned gender, boarding vs. day-school contexts, and institutional capacity, while supportive teachers, peer relationships, and guidance and counseling services were identified as protective resources.
The findings position school-based emotional abuse as an important educational and child-protection concern. Strengthening positive discipline, trauma-informed teacher education, accessible psychosocial support, and school-family collaboration may help promote emotionally safer learning environments. The findings are context-specific and offer qualitative, transferable insight rather than statistical generalization.

PMID:
42846065
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 08 Oct 2026.

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