Reabuse Rates in a Sample of Children Followed for 5 Years After Discharge From a Child Abuse Inpatient Assessment Program

• NCJ Number: 158188
• Journal: Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 19 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1995) Pages: 1363-1377
• Author(s): H B Levy; J Markovic; U Chaudhry; S Ahart; H Torres
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A sample of 304 children assessed for child abuse in a hospital-based, interdisciplinary child abuse assessment unit in Chicago between October 1986 and 1987 were followed for 5 years to determine their rates of reabuse.

Abstract

Reabuse was determined by matching sample names against information in a centralized reporting system. Reabuse was studied across demographic and socioeconomic variables, vulnerability days, initial and subsequent types of abuse, and other considerations. Results revealed that at the end of the 61- to 72-month followup period, the incidence of reabuse was 16.8 percent. The greatest risk of reabuse occurred during the first 2 years following an initial discharge diagnosis of maltreatment. Although no particular initial maltreatment diagnosis was a statistically significant predictor of the likelihood or type of reabuse, neglect was the most frequent type of reabuse. Children experiencing reabuse were also more likely than nonabused children to live in public housing or apartments, have parents who were unmarried or unemployed or both, and be Medicaid recipients. Figures, tables, and 39 references (Author abstract modified)