NCJ Number
176496
Journal
Journal of Aggression Volume: ltreatment and Trauma Issue: Dated: Pages: 1 (1997)-187
Date Published
1997
Length
39 pages
Annotation
A large, nationally representative database of child abuse and neglect cases was analyzed to identify demographic risk factors for the occurrence of various types of abuse and neglect.
Abstract
The analyses used the data collected in the second National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-2) concerning children who were harmed by abuse or neglect. The data period for the NIS-2 was from September 7 through December 6, 1986. The NIS- 2 collected 7,185 data forms over the 3-month study period, 3,909 from child protection services agencies (CPS) and 3,276 from non- CPS sentinels. Multiple-factor logistic models were developed to identify risk factors for the occurrence of abuse or neglect in six categories of maltreatment: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment, physical neglect, educational neglect, and multiple maltreatment. A key finding was that children in families with incomes under $15,000 per year were at far greater risk in every category of maltreatment. Also, older children were generally at greater risk in every category, and risk was related to family structure, family size, child's sex and race/ethnicity, and metropolitan status of the county; however, these relationships applied to only certain types of abuse or neglect or took different forms in different maltreatment categories. Interactions among risk factors were the rule rather than the exception. Findings emphasize the need for better coordination between human-services and income-support services to families. The results imply that risk assessment would be appreciably advanced by going beyond simple matrix approaches that independently consider different factors by developing assessment models that include interactions among various risk factors. 3 tables, 5 figures, 13 notes, and 32 references