Child Abuse and Neglect a National Epidemic

 The National Child Abuse Statistics are Staggering ...

Child Abuse in America

Children are suffering from a hidden epidemic of child abuse and neglect. Every year 3.3 million reports of child abuse are made in the United States involving nearly 6 million children (a report can include multiple children). The United States has the worst record in the industrialized nation – losing five children every day due to abuse-related deaths.

 

 

General Statistics

• A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds
• *More than five children die every day as a result of child abuse.2
• Approximately 80% of children that die from abuse are under the age of 4. 1
• It is estimated that between 50-60% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates. 3
• More than 90% of juvenile sexual abuse victims know their perpetrator in some way. 4
• Child abuse occurs at every socioeconomic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
• About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse. 5
• About 80% of 21 year olds that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder. 5
• The estimated annual cost of child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2008 is $124 billion. 6

Child Abuse & Criminal Behavior

• 14% of all men in prison in the USA were abused as children. ⁷
• 36% of all women in prison were abused as children. ⁷
• Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime. ⁵

Child Abuse Consequences

• Abused children are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy. ⁵
• Abused teens are less likely to practice safe sex, putting them at greater risk for STDs. ⁵

Child Abuse & Substance Abuse

• One-third to two-thirds of child maltreatment cases involve substance use to some degree. ⁸
• Children whose parents abuse alcohol and other drugs are three times more likely to be abused and more than four times more likely to be neglected than children from non-abusing families. ⁸
• As many as two-thirds of the people in treatment for drug abuse reported being abused or neglected as children. ¹⁰

Sources

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. (2011). Child Maltreatment 2010. Available from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm#can
2. United States Government Accountability Office, 2011. Child maltreatment: strengthening national data on child fatalities could aid in prevention (GAO-11-599). Retrieved from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11599.pdf
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children’s Bureau.Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities 2009: Statistics and Interventions. Retrieved from http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/fatality.pdf
4. Snyder, Howard, N. (2000, July). Sexual assault of young children as reported to law enforcement: victim, incident, and offender characteristics. Retrieved from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/saycrle.pdf
5. Long - Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Welfare Information Gateway.Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/long_term_consequences.cfm
6. Fang, X., et al. The economic burden of child maltreatment in the United States and implications for prevention. Child Abuse & Neglect (2012), doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.10.006 Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0145213411003140
7. Harlow, C. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. (1999).Prior abuse reported by inmates and probationers (NCJ 172879) Retrieved from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/parip.pdf
8. Parental substance abuse. Retrieved from http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/factors/parentcaregiver/substance.cfm
9. National Council on Child Abuse and Family Violence. Parental Substance Abuse A Major Factor In Child Abuse And Neglect. Retrieved from http://www.nccafv.org/parentalsubstanceabuse.htm
10. Swan, N. (1998). Exploring the role of child abuse on later drug abuse: Researchers face broad gaps in information. NIDA Notes, 13(2). Retrieved from the National Institute on Drug Abuse website: www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol13N2/exploring.html