School corporal punishment is currently legal in 19 states, and over 160,000 children in these states are subject to corporal punishment in schools each year. Given that the use of school corporal punishment is heavily concentrated in Southern states, and that the federal government has not included corporal punishment in its recent initiatives…

Examines consistency of results and variables that may confound validity in child sexual abuse cases. Concludes that the ways in which information on the incidence and prevalence of child sexual abuse has been collected, analyzed, and reported have been flawed to the extent that few reliable conclusions can be made. Includes suggestions for…

Discusses legal and psychological issues involved in erroneous reporting of child abuse. Addresses whether the child protection field will have the vision and initiative to address the problem proactively from within or whether regulation and restriction of activity will be imposed from without. Explores ideas to make child abuse detection more…

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and correlates of intimate partner violence among female caregivers of children reported to child protective services. Method: Data were derived from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a national probability study of children investigated for child abuse and…

This commentary discusses the decline in sexual abuse, citing research that indicates differences in self-reported sexual abuse across age-cohorts in a population-based sample of Australian adults. Similar declines in Ireland and the United States are also noted. The usefulness of self-report surveys for examining trends in child victimization is…

Objective: To present key findings from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Maltreatment (CIS) in sufficient detail to provide a basis for international comparisons in terms of forms and severity of maltreatment and the age and sex of victims. Method: A survey conducted in a random sample of 51 child welfare service areas across Canada…

Studies use of corporal punishment of adolescents by parents among 6,002 U.S. couples (National Family Violence Resurvey). Results for prevalence and chronicity show that half or more adolescents are hit by their parents and that this can occur frequently. Unfortunately, such events are not necessarily thought of as assaults. (SLD)

Discusses the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS), which is based on a survey of child protection workers involved in 2,447 abuse and neglect investigations. OIS found an incidence rate of reported maltreatment of 21 per 1,000 children and a 27% substantiation rate. Includes comparisons with incidence rates for the…

Situational issues related to families and influences upon families in North Dakota and the United States are briefly outlined in these fact sheets. Contents specifically concern (1) outbound migration from North Dakota and transition of rural families from farming; (2) suicide in North Dakota and the nation; (3) child care issues, such as child…

This paper examines the impact of welfare reforms on several measures of child maltreatment. The authors use state-level data from 1990 to 1998 to examine whether recent welfare reforms have increased or reduced the incidence of reported and substantiated cases of maltreatment, the incidence of specific types of substantiated…

This is the fourth edition of an annual report on trends in the well-being of America's children and youth. Part 1 of the report describes national trends for over 90 indicators of child and youth well-being based on data collected by the federal government. The information provided for each indicator includes one or more tables documenting recent…