Effects of Maltreatment : Consequences for Society Flashcards
Why Consider Economic Disparities?
- Many of the outcomes affected by maltreatment are also affected by other social problems
ex:
- Educational and job opportunities
- Mental well-being
- Physical health
How can we quantify the prevalence of child maltreatment on society?
Prevalence: In 2012:
- 3.4 million referrals (for 6.3 million children)
- 62% of these investigated
Of those investigated, about 20% substantiated - 686,000 substantiated cases (just in 2012)
How can we quantify the effects of child maltreatment on society?
Effects on individuals
- Behavior and mental health outcomes
- Delinquency, school drop-out, criminality
- Chronic diseases and physical health
- Academic, occupational, and economic success
All of these have costs
How do children who have been maltreated, economically affect Crime?
- Children who are maltreated are more than twice as likely to engage in a number of crimes
- This estimate is higher for more severe abuse
How do children who have been maltreated, economically affect Schooling?
Child maltreatment strongly affects school performance
- Lower GPA
- Lower rates of homework completion
- Higher dropout rates
- Neurocognitive deficits
How do children who have been maltreated, economically affect Health?
Maltreated children have significantly more short-term and long-term health problems
What are the short term health problems for children who have been maltreated?
- Physical injury from physical abuse
- Slow rate of growth resulting from neglect
What are the long term health problems for children who have been maltreated?
- Chronic health conditions (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, asthma)
- Substance abuse and psychiatric problems
In the Economic Burden Study conducted by Fang et al, what is the Incidence based approach?
- Considers short-term and long-term costs associated with each case of maltreatment
- Can estimate cost per individual, and cost within a year for all new cases
- Given median age of 6 for victims (in 2008), based lifetime estimates of costs starting at age 6
In the Economic Burden Study conducted by Fang et al, How would you know how much $$ being maltreated adds to average expenses?
Compare average costs between groups
- Maltreated versus non-maltreated
- Estimated cost for an outcome times incremental effect of maltreatment on outcome
In the Economic Burden Study conducted by Fang et al, what were the direct costs?
- Short-term health care costs
- Child welfare costs
- Criminal justice costs
In the Economic Burden Study conducted by Fang et al, what were the indirect costs?
- Long-term medical costs
- Productivity losses
- Special education costs
- Criminal justice (later outcomes)
What were the findings in the Economic Burden Study?
- Based on 2008 estimate of 579,000 new cases, aggregate lifetime costs would be $121.6 BILLION!!!
($124 billion if include fatal cases) - If you use rates of all cases that are investigated (rather than just substantiated), estimate increases to $585 billion.
How does maltreatment pose a high financial burden on a societal level?
- Due to child welfare, education, and criminal justice costs
- Mental and physical health care costs
- Loss of productivity