NCJ Number
139509
Date Published
1989
Length
19 pages
Annotation
Over 1 million children are abused or neglected in the United States each year; as many as seven children die each day from abuse, and about 12 abused children daily suffer brain damage.
Abstract
About 90 percent of child abuse is committed by the child's parents. Fathers and mothers almost equally abuse their children. At least three common themes explain major reasons for parental child abuse: (1) many child abusers were themselves abused as children or had unhappy or insecure childhoods; (2) child abuse often occurs when the family is under financial or emotional stress; and (3) child abuse is more likely to happen in families that are socially isolated and have few or no friends and little or no contact with relatives. The question-and-answer format of the booklet covers incest and other forms of child sexual abuse, child neglect, emotional and psychological abuse, child abuse and neglect reporting, legal protections in reporting, child abuse investigation, and how abusive parents can obtain help. Attention is also paid to conditions common to abusive parents, possible indicators of child abuse and neglect, effects of child sexual abuse, symptoms of neglect and psychological abuse, and agencies to contact about child abuse and neglect.