This article offers compelling reasons for a public health approach to child maltreatment prevention. It outlines a theoretical and conceptual framework to maximize the reach of interventions to a large cross-section of the population, to ensure overall wellbeing and reduce the incidence of child maltreatment. The authors maintain that such an…

This brief discusses the findings of the Fourth Federal National Incidence Study on Child Maltreatment (NIS 4), which reports a significant reduction in the overall rate of child maltreatment since the 1993 NIS. The study reflects substantial drops in the rates of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse. However, no significant changes…

Objective: Canadian victimization surveys and police databases suggest that, overall, no decline in sexual crimes in Canada had occurred lately. We aimed at reviewing the existing data from Canadian child protection services to further explore whether a decline in the number of substantiated child sexual abuse (CSA) cases has occurred during the…

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence, trends, and characteristics of maltreatment and assault related hospital admissions and deaths among children; and identify common injuries and conditions associated with these admissions using routinely collected morbidity and mortality data. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of all children aged…

The study compared data from doctors in the Netherlands from 1974 and 1983. Findings indicated a threefold increase in child abuse and neglect cases, a large increase in emotional maltreatment, an increase in detection of child fatalities, but a decrease in the severity of physical abuse. Sexual abuse was recognized far more often in 1983.…

This article presents descriptive data on almost 20,000 substantiated cases of child abuse/neglect which occurred over a 6-year period in U.S. Air Force families. The paper discusses annual percentage increases in child maltreatment reports, substantiation rates for abuse, programs serving military personnel and families, and offenders' and…

This article examines the characteristics of victims and abusers in Hong Kong child abuse cases in 1995 and compares findings with child abuse cases in 1979. Results indicate an increase in female victims and in sexual abuse. In 1995, abusers were also more likely to be of either gender. (CR)

This review synthesizes findings of 16 cross-sectional surveys on the prevalence of child abuse (primarily sexual abuse) among nonclinical, North American samples. An incidence of approximately 22.3% for women and 8.5% for men was found over three decades though variations in study response rates and differences in child abuse operational…

This national survey of 5,941 households examined violence toward children, including the distribution of violence, how the nature of violence toward children is changing, the effectiveness of intervention and prevention efforts, where more prevention and treatment resources are currently needed, and identification of high-risk groups. (Author/JDD)

This study is the second of two, the first completed in 1980 and the second in 1986, which assessed the current national incidence of child abuse and neglect, and determined how the severity, frequency, and character of child maltreatment changed in the time period between the studies. Major findings include: (1) more than one million children…

Interviews were conducted with child protection administrators in 43 states. More than half in states with large declines of cases of substantiated sexual abuse were unaware of any discussion of the declines within their agency or state. Possible causes for decline included increased evidentiary requirements and increased caseworker caution.…

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…

This review of cultural attitudes and case studies proposes that the incidence of sexual abuse of male and female children by women is underestimated and that the changing roles of men and women in Western societies may lead to an increase in such abuse. (Author/DB)

This report details results of an early 1991 national survey of federal liaisons for state child abuse and neglect programs. Nationwide, child abuse reports increased 31% between 1985 and 1990. An estimated 39 out of every 1,000 U.S. children were reported as victims of child maltreatment, an average 4% increase over the previous year which is a…

A study examined age-cohort differences of self-reported child sexual abuse (CSA) experiences of 1,784 Australian adults. CSA was reported significantly less by younger males than older males. Among females who had intercourse before 16, older women were more likely to say they were an unwilling partner on the first occasion. (Contains…