Physical Child AbuseMaltreatment

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Physical Child Abuse/Maltreatment

• Dr. Michelle L. Meloy

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Historical Perspectives of Child Abuse What
was...

• Arrests were likely only in cases of permanent
  injury or death
• Cultural heritage religious teachings
  sanctioned corporal punishment
• Legal notions of progeny as the property of
  fathers
• Spare the rod, spoil the child
• Honor thy father and mother

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Historical Perspectives of Child AbuseWhat
was...

• Social movements in the 1800s/1900s resulted in
  legal shifts to criminalize the behavior
• Child abuse rediscovered in 1960s by pediatric
  radiologists Battered Child Syndrome
• BCS believed to be a cyclical pattern of physical
  abuse perpetrated by parents who had also been
  beaten as children
• Typical victim Under 3 years, traumatic injuries
  to head and limbs with claims that injuries were
  caused by falling
• Term was gradually replaced by child abuse or
  child maltreatment

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Criminalization Reporting Laws

• Between 1962-1966 all states passed laws
  forbidding child abuse by parents
• 1974 Congress passed Child Abuse
  Prevention-Treatment Act
• Because victims are often too young or vulnerable
  to report the abuse, mandatory reporting laws now
  exist in all 50 states
• Heres an example of a local child abuse case

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Criminalization Reporting Laws

• Child Neglect Ranges from abandonment to failure
  to provide for childs basic needs in 3 areas
  physical, emotional, educational
• Physical Abuse Physical injury resulting from
  punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning,
  shaking or otherwise causing harm
• Sexual Abuse Any sexual activity with a child or
  exploitation into sex work or pornography
• Emotional Abuse Care providers causing serious
  emotional-cognitive-behavioral damage to child

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Child Abuse The Numbers

• 2008 900,000 confirmed cases of child abuse
• Death resulted in 1,500 of these victims
• Shaken-baby syndrome affects between 1,200- 1,600
  children every year
• debate over shaken-baby syndrome
• As of Spring 2008 confirmed child abuse cases
• neglect/maltreatment 64
• physical abuse 16
• sexual abuse 9
• emotional abuse 7

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Victim Facts

• Slightly over half (52) of child abuse victims
  are female (48 male)
• Slightly over half (53) of child abuse victims
  are under the age of 7
• Children under the age of 4 are most likely to be
  seriously injured or die as a result of injuries
• 2008 CDC data suggests Blacks, American Indians
  or Alaskan natives and Multiracial children are
  overrepresented as victims

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Risk factors for victimization

• Younger children (under 7)
• Children with disabilities
• Families that are socially emotionally isolated
• Substance abuse in family
• Undereducated parents
• Prior parental history of domestic violence
• Poverty
• Unemployment or underemployment
• Community violence

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Risk factors for victimization

• Stressed disorganized family settings
• Young, single parents w/out biological
  connections to child
• Violence-prone socialization pro-violent
  attitudes
• Stress or depression among parents or caregivers
• Poor parent-child relationships and negative
  interactions
• Parental thoughts and emotions supporting
  maltreatment behaviors

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Risk Factors For Offending

• Age Younger parents
• Gender Mothers appear to be the perpetrators in
  slightly more than half of reported cases
• Familial Relationship Most offenders are
  parents to the victim. Victimizations by
  strangers are rare
• Relationship status of parent Single parents
  are over represented among abusers
• Environmental factors High rates of poverty,
  stress, cycle of violence characteristics

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Low risk or preventive environments

• Family support
• Nurturing parents
• Stability in supportive and pro-social
  relationships
• Rules, monitoring and expectations of child
• Parental employment
• Adequate housing
• Access to health care and social services
• External community support
• Child abuse awareness and prevention program

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Consequences of Child Abuse Snapshot

• Physical abuse as a child by parents - doubles
  the odds of physical abuse as an adult
• Direct costs 24 billion annually
• Indirect costs 69 billion annually

• Brain injuries
• Emotional problems
• Physical problems
• Sleeping disorders
• Panic attacks
• Stress disorders
• Crime
• Long-term effects

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Consequences of Child Abuse Developmental

• Inability to control emotions or frequent
  outbursts
• Submissive behavior
• Academic difficulty
• Interpersonal difficulties
• Unusual eating or sleeping behaviors
• Aggressive or sexually provocative behavior
• Socially or emotionally inappropriate behavior
• Lack of response to affection

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Consequences of Child AbuseCriminogenic

• Chances of being arrested as a juvenile increase
  by 58 compared to non-abused children
• Abused children are 28 more likely to be
  arrested when they reach adulthood
• Abused children are 30 more likely to be
  arrested for a violent offense

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Consequences of Child AbuseVictimization Repeats

• Victims of child physical abuse or child sexual
  abuse are more likely to be physically or
  sexually abused as adults