NCJ Number
169141
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 21 Issue: 8 Dated: August 1997 Pages: 759-768
Date Published
August 1997
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Data on all substantiated child abuse and neglect cases in the Army Family Advocacy Central Registry formed the basis of a comparison of the rates of child maltreatment in the Army and civilian populations and to determine the demographic characteristics of Army children at increased risk for specific types of child maltreatment.
Abstract
The data came from the Army Medical Department’s Patient Administration System and Biostatistics Activity. The research calculated and compared rates of abuse for demographic subsets of the population. The overall rate of child maltreatment appeared to be lower in the Army than in the general population. Rates of neglect were markedly lower in the Army population than in the general population. Among Army children, young children and children with lower ranking sponsors were at greatest risk for major physical abuse and neglect. Males were neglect victims more often than females. Teenage females had the highest risk for minor physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse. At younger ages, males had greater risk of minor physical abuse, whereas females had greater risk of child sexual abuse. The research concluded that the Department of the Army’s extensive child abuse prevention initiatives may be strengthened by identifying prevention services to the identified high-risk groups. Tables, figure, and 23 references (Author abstract modified)