Physical Abuse in U.S. Children: Risk Factors and Deficiencies in Referrals to Support Services

Abstract

More than 600,000 U.S. children are reported for physical abuse annually. Risk factors are proposed in the literature, but a comprehensive, national assessment of risk factors and support services has not been conducted. An analysis of national data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Dataset revealed that domestic violence, parental alcohol and drug use, prior child abuse and neglect, public assistance receipt, and child behavior problems are associated with higher odds of substantiated physical abuse reports, compared to unsubstantiated reports. Most families, however, failed to receive relevant support services for any of these risk factors. Screening by physicians, child protection workers, and others for these risk factors could help identify children at increased risk for physical abuse and inform prevention efforts and support-service provision.

Caregiver Vulnerabilities Associated With the Perpetration of Substantiated Child Maltreatment in Canada: Examining the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS) 2008

“…Overall, only 27% of all cases investigated by child welfare agencies in Canada in 2008 were identified as remaining open for ongoing services (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2010). This is similar to findings from a national sample of child protective services reports from the United States, indicating that only 53.1% of families with substantiated child physical abuse received any type of support services, including family preservation services, foster care, substance abuse counseling, education or employment training, and housing assistance (Dakil et al, 2012). Whereas North American child welfare models often focus on substantiation and risk assessment based on protection and safety goals, most European models focus on providing a broader array of services to all families at risk for CM (Gilbert et al, 2009).…”

A cross-sectional exploratory study of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of emergency health care providers in the assessment of child maltreatment in Maputo, Mozambique

“…Accordingly, future interventions to educate health care providers and increase knowledge should focus on individual-level risk factors for CM and encourage consideration of patient history and demographics in the assessment. Moreover, there is a need to better understand and treat negligence and emotional abuse as forms of CM, as well as provide long-term support to victims [ 26 , 37 , 38 , 40 ].…”

“…Due to the normalization of CM, cases are rarely reported and it’s often termed a silent phenomenon [ 4 , 22 – 25 ]. Literature from high-income countries suggests that training health care providers to be aware of abusive behaviors, recognize warning signs, and refer suspected cases to appropriate services might be one effective form of intervention and prevention [ 26 – 29 ]. This is due to the fact emergency departments are often critical entry points into crisis response systems [ 30 ].…”

How do public child healthcare professionals and primary school teachers identify and handle child abuse cases? A qualitative study

“…Primary prevention includes the detection of risk factors for child abuse and the detection of cases of child abuse. For primary prevention, frontline workers need to become cognizant of child abuse risk factors such as domestic violence [ 12 ], parental mental health problems [ 13 , 14 ] and poor parenting skills [ 15 ], and stimulate parents to seek preventive help. Secondary prevention is targeted at specific “at risk” adult and child populations.…”