Prevalence Of Child Maltreatment Research Articles

Current issues in child abuse

Different aspects of child abuse are reviewed. Issues include changes in the prevalence of child abuse throughout the years, characteristics of the perpetrators, physical findings, impact of the medical examination on the legal system, accuracy of children's report, attribution of responsibility by external observers, and child abuse as a predictor of psychopathology.

Sudden Unexpected Deaths (SUDS) in Infancy: What is The Prevalence of Child Abuse and Negligence?

Sudden Unexpected Deaths (SUDS) in Infancy: What is The Prevalence of Child Abuse and Negligence?

The Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect in our society: A case study of teachers in Enugu State of Nigeria.

There has heen a growing increase of the phenomenon of child abuse and neglect in this country as shown by the media and concerned Non-Governmental Organisations (N G 0.s) in recent times. As a way of curtailing this, the study was thus conceived. Using eighty four female teachers and thirty six male teachers who are currently working in 6 out of the 27 secondary schools in Enugu, capital city of Enugu State, the researchers found that a significant difference existed between the perception of males and female teachers on the causes and end results of child abuse and neglect.

A longitudinal analysis of risk factors for child maltreatment: findings of a 17-year prospective study of officially recorded and self-reported child abuse and neglect

Objective: To identify demographic, family, parent, and child factors prospectively associated with risk for child abuse and neglect among families in the community, using data on child maltreatment obtained from both official records and youth self-reports. Method: Surveys assessing demographic variables, family relationships, parental behavior, and characteristics of parents and children were administered to a representative sample of 644 families in upstate New York on four occasions between 1975 and 1992. Data on child abuse and neglect were obtained from New York State records and retrospective self-report instruments administered when youths were ≥ 18 years old. Results: Logistic regression analyses indicated that different patterns of risk factors predicted the occurrence of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect, although maternal youth and maternal sociopathy predicted the occurrence of all three forms of child maltreatment. In addition, the prevalence of child abuse or neglect increased from 3% when no risk factors were present to 24% when ≥ 4 risk factors were present. State records and self-reports of child maltreatment did not correspond in most cases when maltreatment was reported through at least one data source, underlining the importance of obtaining data from both official records and self-reports. Conclusions: Assessment of a number of risk factors may permit health professionals to identify parents and children who are at high risk for child maltreatment, facilitating appropriate implementation of prevention and treatment interventions.

The Nurse's role in the prevention of child abuse and neglect: Part II

I N PART I, the incidence and prevalence of child maltreatment in the United States was discussed. An attempt was made to raise awareness and to convey that the incidence and consequences of child abuse in America continues to be a serious problem. Part II will discuss ways in which nurses can play a role in helping to decrease the incidence of child abuse and neglect in this country. Three factors are key in this endeavor: prevention, recognition and education, all of which are interrelated. Nurses are in an excellent position to intervene in these areas using primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention.

Maltreatment and Behavioral Characteristics of Youth Who Are Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing

This paper summarizes the available literature on child abuse and neglect among children with disabilities in general and considers children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing within this larger rubric given the low prevalence rates of children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing among the disabled population. This procedure allows for comparisons between disabilities as well as abused and non-abused children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. Maltreatment data on children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing in a large epidemiological study of the prevalence of child maltreatment among children with disabilities are summarized. Children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing comprised 6.1% of the disabled population who were identified as victims of maltreatment. Their most prevalent form of maltreatment was neglect, followed by physical abuse and sexual abuse. Although children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing are significantly more likely to be maltreated by immediate family members, placement in a residential school is a risk factor for sexual and physical abuse. Maltreated children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing exhibit significantly more behavior problems including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder related behaviors than nonmaltreated peers.

The prevalence of child sexual abuse: Integrative review adjustment for potential response and measurement biases

This integrative review synthesizes the findings of 16 cross-sectional surveys (25 hypotheses) on the prevalence of child abuse among nonclinical, North American samples. It is essentially a research literature on sexual abuse; only one of the studies assessed physical abuse, and there has not yet been a single study of prevalent child emotional abuse nor neglect. The following summative inferences were made: (1) response rates diminished significantly over time, M = 68% prior to 1985 and M = 49% for more recent surveys, p < .05; (2) unadjusted estimates of the prevalent experience among women and men of childhood sexual abuse was 22.3% and 8.5%, respectively; (3) study response rates and child abuse operational definitions together accounted for half of the observed variability in their abuse prevalence estimates, R 2 = .500, p < .05; (4) female and male child sexual abuse prevalence estimates adjusted for response rates (60% or more) were respectively, 16.8% and 7.9%, and adjusted for operational definitions (excluding the broadest, noncontact category) they were 14.5% and 7.2%; (5) after adjustment for response rates and definitions, the prevalence of child sexual abuse was not found to vary significantly over the three decades reviewed. Given the large human costs, both personal and social, of child abuse, and the identified gap in the requisite knowledge needed to steer effective preventive and treatment interventions, it is time to invest in a large, methodologically rigorous, population-based study of child abuse which, if it does nothing else, spares no expense in ensuring very high participation.

Childhood Family Problems and Current Psychiatric Problems among Young Violent and Property Offenders

The main objective was to examine whether young property and violent offenders would differ from each other in the prevalence of childhood abuse and neglect experiences, prevalence of various early family problems, and prevalence of disruptive behavior disorders, depression, and substance use. Childhood abuse and neglect assessments and family problems were based on interview, questionnaire, and file data. Psychiatric diagnoses were made on the basis of a structured clinical interview. There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of childhood physical or psychological abuse, or neglect between the groups. According to the files, physical abuse was experienced by 57.5% of the violent offenders compared with 37% of the property offenders (p = .10). The prevalence rates of family problems were not different in the groups. Seventy-one percent of the violent group abused street drugs compared with 51% of the property group (p < .05), but the groups did not differ in disruptive behavior disorders, alcohol abuse/dependence, or depression. The property and violent offenders were surprisingly similar to each other in childhood experiences, family problems, and psychiatric diagnoses. The prevalence of childhood family and psychiatric problems was high in both groups.

Childhood Abuse as a Precursor to Homelessness for Homeless Women With Severe Mental Illness

Previous studies of childhood abuse levels among homeless women have typically focused either on single homeless women or female heads of families; almost none have focused specifically on homeless women with severe mental illness. This study explores rates of childhood physical and sexual abuse among 120 homeless women with severe mental illness. Correlates of experiencing childhood abuse are considered, including mental health outcomes and when women first become homeless. The prevalence of childhood abuse in this sample of women was substantially higher than among homeless women in general. The experience of childhood abuse was related to increased suicidality, and resulted in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder for some women. Women who had suffered abuse were also much more likely to become homeless during childhood and it is suggested that this is an important precursor to homelessness for many homeless women with chronic and severe mental illness.

Incest, false accusations of incest and false denials of incest. Discerning the truth in the debate about recovered memory

One hundred years ago Freud was struggling with the problem of ascertaining what was truth and fantasy in his patients' accounts of incestuous abuse. Today the issue of recovered memory is again a focus of intense attention and concern. Towards the end of the 1980's, with the increased awareness of the prevalence of child abuse, and also a greater understanding of post-traumatic stress disorders, a new perspective emerged of the trauma-based nature of some severe mental pathologies, such as borderline personality disorders. This shift in understanding was found to have taken a catastrophic turn as it was realised that some memories of child abuse may be pseudo memories. However, allegations and counter allegations of abuse are often so irreconcileable that a common experience of the detached observer is one of confusion. The arguments and evidence of the FMS societies are reviewed here. There is some equivocal evidence for motivated amnesia; cognitive avoidance and dissociation may be better explanatory c...

Child abuse prevalence in russian urban population: A preliminary report

Self-reported data from 375 early and mid-adolescent school children in a Siberian city estimated a prevalence of child abuse at 28.9%. Of these children, 3.8% suffered injuries that required medical attention. This prevalence of child abuse indicates the need for additional research and development of a system to identify and manage child abuse in Russia.

Child maltreatment research: Federal support and policy issues.

The recent history of federal support for child maltreatment research paints a mixed picture of inadequate funding and uncertain administrative guidance against a backdrop of growing public concern about the prevalence of child abuse and neglect. This article describes some of the problems that have been identified in federal research funding, administration, and support of research initiatives and training concerning child abuse and neglect. Remedies for these difficulties are outlined, priorities for new research in this area are identified, and ways in which to rejuvenate the federal government's role in this area, in league with a concerted commitment to policy-relevant research by behavioral scientists, are suggested.

Vulnerable children, vulnerable families: the social construction of child abuse

In this book, Susan Janko aims to move beyond sensationalism and platitudes to take a sensitive and serious look at the national problem of child abuse. She delves, through observations and interviews with parents and staff members, into the frustrating world of the child welfare system. The author examines the experiences of three parents who came to be known as abusive by a state-run Child Protection Services agency (CPS), and discusses how they and their children fared under the agency's intervention. From her insider perspectives as former director of the therapeutic pre-school programme and co-director of the CPS-sponsored programme with which these parents are involved, Janko demonstrates a social programme that is often counter-productive. Designed to provide parents with the support and skills necessary to help them raise their children at home, these agencies frequently fail to achieve the aim. And, too often, their well-intentioned intervention concludes with the most unhappy result of all - the child's removal to an institution or foster home. Instead, the author argues, far-reaching policy changes are needed to coordinate earlier and more diverse kinds of support for children and families who experience violence. She describes the parents and caseworkers interviewed as neither saints nor villains, but human beings living in a degenerating society and caught in the coils of an inadequate and misguided governmental construct. Through the lens of the interviews, Janko examines the synergetic relationship between the developing child and caregiving and social environments, and the ways in which society understands and defines child maltreatment - societal tolerances may change, leaving an impression that the prevalence of child maltreatment has declined or risen, although the actual caregiving situations are relatively unchanged.

Maltreatment in Psychiatrically Hospitalized Children and Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities: Prevalence and Correlates

The goals of this study were (1) to determine the prevalence of child maltreatment in hospitalized children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and concomitant psychiatric disorders, and (2) to identify the contribution of specific mother and child characteristics to the use of more severe disciplinary practices by mothers. One hundred thirty-eight psychiatrically hospitalized children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and mothers were assessed using a semistructured interview (Child Abuse and Neglect Interview Schedule) examining factors associated with risk of child maltreatment, and questionnaires measuring maternal and child functioning. The Child Abuse and Neglect Interview Schedule and hospital charts were then used to derive ratings on the prevalence and severity of child maltreatment. Findings revealed that 61% of children had experienced some form of severe maltreatment by a care provider in their lifetime. Regression analysis indicated that interactions between high levels of social functioning and disruptive/oppositional behaviors and younger age in children, and low levels of social support and increased anger reactivity in mothers, were most predictive of mothers' use of severe disciplinary practices. Maltreatment in psychiatrically hospitalized children and adolescents with disabilities is very prevalent, and it warrants careful clinical assessment. In the psychiatric setting, families in which the child is younger, higher functioning, and behaviorally disruptive, and where mothers have little social support and exhibit increased anger reactivity, are at especially elevated risk.

MODERN WITCH HUNT—CHILD ABUSE CHARGES

The 1974 act—sometimes known as the Mondale Act, after one of its sponsors—was implemented to fight a genuine problem. Up to that year, child abuse was rarely reported and frequently covered up. It was Congress's intent to rectify this deplorable situation by providing incentives for states to set up programs for child abuse research, identification, prosecution and treatment. Federal funding was made available to match state spending, and this served as an incentive for states to create such programs. The law, however, has had results that its authors did not intend. In America today, child sex-abuse accusations are burgeoning. In many cases, it is probable that the charges are valid. But when the charges arise from vicious child custody disputes, where the vengeance element and the opportunity for exclusion of a hated spouse is operative, or in venues such as day-care centers, where the potential pedophile has little opportunity for contact with the child alone, the prevalence of child abuse is in reality quite low. The Child Abuse Establishment Nevertheless, the number of charges in these areas escalate. The primary reason: The Mondale Act has strengthened the "child abuse establishment"—a network of social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists and law enforcement officials—that through its very existence frequently validates an individual's charges. In other words, this establishment, unintentionally or intentionally, encourages charges of child abuse whether they are reasonable or not.

Reporting of child maltreatment: A secondary analysis of the national incidence surveys

Reports to CPS agencies of child maltreatment cases come from a variety of community sources. Which kinds of cases are underreported, overreported, or not reported at all, and why? We address these questions by examining the discrepancies between cases known to CPS agencies and those known to professionals who regularly come into contact with children: teachers, hospital personnel, law enforcement officers, court personnel, and social service workers. The analysis is based on the 1980 and 1986 National Study of the Incidence and Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect. Our research yielded three major findings. First, older victims were less likely than younger victims to be known to CPS agencies. Second, there is a hierarchy of type of abuse reported to CPS agencies, with sexual abuse being at the top of the list and educational neglect at the bottom of the list. Third, the victims' race, sex, and income did not play a role in whether or not a case was reported to CPS agencies.

Child maltreatment, stressful life events, and behavior problems in school-aged children in residential treatment.

This study examined the prevalence of child maltreatment, stressful life events, and behavior problems in school-aged children in residential treatment. The sample included 44 children, ages 5-13 years; 61% were male and 39% female. Results indicated that the entire sample had experienced one or more types of maltreatment, with physical abuse being more prevalent. Seventy-four percent of subjects scored in the clinical range on the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983). Proportionally more physically abused children scored in the clinical range when compared to nonphysically abused children. The number of stressful life events experienced after admission to the treatment facility was found to be related to increased behavior problems.

The Incidence and Prevalence of Child Maltreatment

Data sources for the development of credible estimates of the prevalence and incidence of various forms of child maltreatment, including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and physical and emotional neglect, are as yet underdeveloped. The National Incidence Study and American Humane Association reports provide incidence estimates, and upper and lower bounds for prevalence estimates can be obtained by extrapolation from these incidence estimates. Victimization by various forms of child maltreatment is distressingly common and is especially likely to occur in low-income households. Most individual incidents are not in themselves highly serious but may be indicators of underlying family stresses. Many practitioners are skeptical about the wisdom of criminalizing child maltreatment, and, perhaps as a result, most studies on patterns of reporting show that many suspected maltreatment incidents go unreported. There is considerable evidence that active delinquents are disproportionately likely to have suffered maltreatment.

Child Maltreatment in the United States: A Challenge to Social Institutions

Reports on the nature and prevalence of child abuse and neglect and organizational responses to the problem to provide a framework for policy and program development.

Prevalence survey of inhalant abuse.

Although there is a paucity of hard epidemiologic data on the prevalence of inhalant abuse, there is considerable anecdotal evidence that such abuse is continuing. Recently, we received repeated reports that one particularly public housing project in Atlanta had high rates of inhalant abuse, and to assess the prevalence of such abuse in children 4 to 20 years old, we conducted a random household survey in 400 of the project's 1,140 units. In an attempt to get complete and reliable data, wer chose and trained 10 residents as interviewers. Fifty youngsters were identified as ever having used inhalants, representing a sample prevalence of approximately 4%. The typical sniffer was a male, age 15, in the 9th grade or currently out of school. Some sniffers, though, continued to use inhalants into the 20s. Not unexpectedly, sniffers were found to use alcohol and other drugs at greater rates than other children. Although the parents of sniffers often said that they recognized drug-related problems in their children, the seldom sought help. Nevertheless, most residents felt that a drug-counseling program should be established in the project to provide alternative recreational activities.