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Child abuse is the physical or psychological maltreatment of a child by an adult often synonymous with the term child maltreatment or the term child abuse and neglect.
The majority (78%) of maltreated children were maltreated by their birth parents. Birth parents were responsible for 62% of the abuse cases and 91% of the neglect cases.
Birth parents were the most closely related perpetrators for 72% of physically abused children and 81% of emotionally abused children. Of the children who were abused by their birth parents the majority (75%) were abused by their mothers and a sizable minority (46%) were abused by their father (some children were abused by both parents). By contrast, children who were abused by other parents or parent-substitutes were more likely to be mistreated by a male (80-85%) than by females (14-41%)
The pattern was distinctly different for child sexual abuse. Almost-one half of sexually abused children were sexually abused by someone other than a parent or a parent-substitute. Just over one-fourth were sexually abused by a birth parent and one-fourth were sexually abused by parent-substitute (corrected NIS-3 typo). A sexually abused child was most likely to sustain serious injury or impairment when a birth parent was the perpetrator (see incest). Male perpetrators committed 89% of known child sexual abuse versus only 12% by females but this statistic fails to include non-contact forms of child sexual abuse that females often prefer (see covert incest) which causes serious psychological injury and impairment.
Neglected children were more often neglected by female perpeprators (87%) than by male perpetrators 43%. Since the vast majority (91%) of neglected children were neglected by their birth parents, this means that birth mothers committed the majority of neglect cases as opposed to birth fathers. This finding is congruent with thend to be the primary caretakers and are the primary parents held accountable for any ommissions and/or failings in caretaking.
Children of single parents were at higher risk of physical abuse and all types of neglect and were over-represented among seriously injured, moderately injured and endangered children. Compared with their counterparts living with both parents, children in single-parent families had:
Among children in single parent households, those living with only their father were approximately one and two-thirds more likely to be sexually abused than those living only with their mothers. Based on the data above, children living only with their mother were far more likely to be neglected than those living only with their fathers.
Children in families with income below $15,000 dollars a year were 14-56 times more likely to suffer specific forms of serious child abuse vs children from families with incomes of $30,000 per year or more. Family income was significantly related to incidence rate of nearly every category of maltreatment. Children from families with income below $15,000 are over 31 times more likely to be considered endangered, although not yet injured, by some type of abusive or neglectful treatment than those from families with incomes of $30,000 per year or more.
Family size was connected with a huge increases in the levels of educational and physical neglect. Children in the largest families (those with four or more children) were almost three times more likely to be educationally neglected and nearly two and two fifths more likely to be physically neglected. Surprisingly 'only' children suffered more neglect than children in families of two-three children. However, children in the largest families were physically neglected at nearly three times the rate of those who came from 'only' child households.
Girls were sexually abused about three times more often than boys. However, this data is based on definitonal guidelines that permit inference of injury of harm to girls that occurred in connection with more extreme forms of sexual abuse. In addition, there is evidence to suggest (see rape and incest) that women commit sexual abuse against their own children in far greater numbers than are being reported, often with covert, non-contact methods, and that they can conceal both overt and covert child sexual abuse much more easily inside their families than can men. Given that female sexual abuse of children is rarely reported (see incest links) it is impossible to know how many boys versus girls are sexually abused by birth mothers and other female caretakers.
Boys were at significantly (24%) greater risk of serious injury than girls. In addition, the trends in fatal injuries moved in opposite directions between NIS-2 and NIS-3 studies with the incidence of fatally injured girls declining slightly while the incidence of fatally injured boys rose. Boys are also significantly more likely to be emotionally neglected than girls (boys' risk was 18% greater than girls').
Children under age 12, and especially those ages 6-11 were at highest risk for all forms of mistreatment. However, one form of abuse, the sexual abuse of children has a strikingly low age transition in the distribution of incidence rates. The rate of child sexual abuse was very low for 0-2 year olds, but then relatively constant for children ages 3 and older, indicating a very wide range of vulnerability from pre-school age on.
This study found no race-related differences in maltreatment incidence.
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