Children's perspectives on the medical and cultural aspects of circumcision

Abstract

Background: Circumcision is one of the most common surgical procedures performed on males, in which the foreskin of the penis is removed. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences and views of boys regarding circumcision, and to analyze the medical and cultural aspects of circumcision. Methods: The sample of this descriptive study consisted of 326 boys aged 7 to 14 years, who were studying at three schools in the center of a city in the north of Turkey. The data were collected through a questionnaire and were analyzed using numbers, percentages and chi-square tests on SPSS16.0. Results: The average age of the children, who participated in the study was 10.41 +/- 1.87. It was found that over one quarter of the children were not consulted before circumcision while 55.8% received information from family members and 16.9% were given information from their physician. As for the reasons that circumcision was performed, 69.3% said it was due to religious beliefs and 55.8% said it was because they wanted to be a man. Fifty-one point eight percent of the children stated that they thought the circumcision ceremony was necessary. Of the children, who participated in the study, 64.7% stated that they experienced different levels of fear during circumcision, 54.6% stated that they experienced different levels of pain and 48.2% stated that they felt grief. A significant relationship was found between the person, who performed the circumcision, the place where it was performed, the type of anesthesia used and the child's levels of pain and grief; there was also a significant relationship between the person, who performed the circumcision, the place where it was performed, the type of anesthesia used, the age at which it was performed and the level of fear (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Boys were not adequately informed before circumcision, and this procedure was performed in almost half of the boys at an unsuitable age and outside the hospital environment, and the boys experienced too much pain and fear during the process. A significant relationship was found with the person, who performed the circumcision.