Homicide of children aged 0–4 years, 2003–04: results from the National Violent Death Reporting System

Abstract

Introduction:To better understand, and ultimately prevent, infant/child homicide, it is imperative to more thoroughly elucidate the circumstances and conditions related to such instances. Data were obtained from the US National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) to illuminate circumstances related to homicide among children aged 4 years or less, and to identify demographic groups which may be at increased risk.Methods:The NVDRS is an active surveillance system that provides comprehensive information on all violent deaths that occur within participating states within the US. Standard statistical tests were conducted to determine homicide rates among children ages 0–4 across states that provided data for both 2003 and 2004 (Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, and Virginia). These data were further used to investigate infant/child homicides by race, gender, and other relevant circumstances (for example, victim-suspect relationship, weapon type, and location of homicide). A Poisson regression model was fitted to the sample data to investigate the multivariate relationship between the infant/child homicide rate and available demographic information.Results:The 2003 homicide rate for children ages 0–4 was 3.0 per 100 000 population. The 2004 homicide rate was 2.5 per 100 000 population. African Americans were 4.2 times as likely as whites to be victims of homicide. Suspects were commonly parents/caregivers. The vast majority of infant/child homicides occurred in houses or apartments, using weapons that include household objects.Conclusion:Homicides of infants and young children are most often committed in the home, by parents/caregivers, using “weapons of opportunity”. This suggests that the risk of infant/child homicide is greatest within the primary care giving environment. Moreover, the use of “weapons of opportunity” may be indicative of maladaptive stress responses. Prevention and intervention strategies to reduce infant/child homicide should target the home environment and attend to maladaptive stress responses.

Fatal child maltreatment in england

“…Excluding those deaths related to but not directly caused by maltreatment, the average is 34.5 cases (0-17 years) per year (0.31 per 100,000 per year) or 20.5 cases (0-4 years) per year (0.67 per 100,000 per year). These figures are considerably lower than those reported for 0-4 year olds in the United States (2.5 -3.0 per 100,000 per year) (Bennett, et al, 2006) and slightly lower than the 1-2 cases per week previously estimated by Green (Green, 1998), but still equates to around one child per week dying in England as a consequence of child abuse or neglect.…”

Child Fatality Review

“…The NVDRS, which is currently active in approximately one-third of the states, collects data on fatalities associated with child maltreatment and has potential synergy with CFRTs. 28 CFRTs support the public health approach of using data collection or surveillance to define the issues; identify risk factors, protective factors, and barriers within individual families and the greater community; develop interventions that are based on analysis; implement interventions at the community level; and use evaluation results to modify and improve the initial interventions. 16 …”

Outcomes and factors associated with infant abusive head trauma in the US

“…Despite the inaccuracies that may be involved in coding AHT cases, previous studies have reported potential risk factors for AHT in young children, including demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical. 3,6,8,14 According to several studies, infants younger than 1 year and with a lower socioeconomic status are at higher risk for AHT. 6,14 Additionally, a higher risk of AHT has been documented among specific racial and/or ethnic minorities.…”

“…6,14 Additionally, a higher risk of AHT has been documented among specific racial and/or ethnic minorities. 3,8 Clinical entities associated with AHT include retinal hemorrhages and subdural hematomas. 9,28 Although pertinent information has been obtained from studies published to date, most of these studies have significant limitations, for example, small sample sizes, hospital-specific characteristics, and an inability to generalize findings to infants nationwide.…”