Household composition and the risk of child abuse and neglect Journal Articles

abstract

• SummaryThe incidence of child abuse and neglect resulting in validated case reports to the American Humane Association in 1976 was determined in relation to household composition, family income and age of the victim. Abuse and neglect were both maximal in father-only homes and minimal in two-natural-parent homes. Mother-only households exceed those with one natural and one step-parent in neglect incidence, but the reverse is true for abuse incidence. Poverty is more strongly associated with neglect risk than with abuse risk, and probably cannot account for the high risks of abuse and neglect in father-only and step-parent families. Evidence that the presence of an unrelated adult filling a parental role exacerbates the risk of physical abuse is presented and discussed.

authors

• Wilson, Margo I
• Daly, Martin
• Weghorst, Suzanne J

status

• published 

publication date

• July 1980

has subject area

• 1603 Demography (FoR)
• Adolescent (MeSH)
• Child (MeSH)
• Child Abuse (MeSH)
• Child, Preschool (MeSH)
• Family Characteristics (MeSH)
• Female (MeSH)
• General Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (Science Metrix)
• Humans (MeSH)
• Infant (MeSH)
• Male (MeSH)

published in

• Journal of Biosocial Science  Journal

keywords

• Adolescent
• Child
• Child Abuse
• Child, Preschool
• Family Characteristics
• Female
• Humans
• Infant
• Male

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.1017/s0021932000012876

PubMed ID

• 7410454

start page

• 333

end page

• 340

volume

• 12

issue

• 3