Week 7: Child Maltreatment - Definitions

Question 1

Definition

Answer 1

U.S. Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act:

Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker, which results in
death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation, or an act or failure to act, which presents an imminent
risk of serious harm.

Can be commission - doing something

Can be omission - not doing something

Question 2

Physical abuse

Neglect
3 types

Answer 2

Physical abuse

Punching, beating, kicking, burning, shaking, or otherwise physically harming a child

Often unintentional and resulting from severe physical punishment

Neglect

Child’s basic needs are not being met

Physical neglect
-Food, refusal of health care, inadequate supervision

Educational neglect
-Not putting a child of manadatory age in school, not attending to special education needs

Emotional neglect
-Failure to attend to child’s emotional needs, refusal or failure to provide needed
psychological care

Question 3

Sexual abuse

Emotional abuse

Answer 3

Sexual abuse
-Touching genitals, intercourse, exhibitionism, production of pornographic photos

Emotional abuse
-Repeated acts by parents or caregivers that could or have caused serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional or mental disorders

Note that all abuse will cause emotional harm

Question 4

Epidemiology

Answer 4

Challenges of studying incidence and prevalence of child abuse

People may not be willing to report this

Identified cases
-Children who are involved with Child Protection Services
Is an underestimate - many will go unreported

Retrospective report

A lot of studies are completed by asking adults to report what they
experienced as children

Question 5

Incidence rates

Answer 5

One year incidence rates

Recall that incidence is new cases in a given time frame

In the U.S., 12.1/1000 children

In Canada, 9.7/1000 children

U.S. has higher rates of poverty, and it is much harder to get access to health care

Can be non-deliberate abuse i.e. mother has no choice but to go to hospital and leave two of three kids alone as there is no one to care for them

Responding anonymously, 10% of parents report using forms of physical punishment that constitute child abuse (e.g., hitting the
child with an object)

If it leaves a mark = abuse

Question 6

What is well researched, what is most common?

Answer 6

Physical and Sexual abuse

Neglect

Question 7

Epidemiology

Answer 7

Demographic characteristics

Age

• Younger children are more likely to be neglected
• Demands of caring for a younger child are much higher (e.g. single moms can be in impossible situations - work and pay for food vs. leave kid at home alone)
• Older children (> 12 years) are more likely to be sexually abused

Poverty
-Crowded unsafe housing, restricted childcare opportunities

Single parent families
-Higher rates of physical abuse and neglect

Gender

• Girls are more likely to be sexually abused
• Abused by male family members