Numerous reports describe the characteristics of child-abusing families but most of these lack a comparison group of non-abusers. This study compares substantiated reports of abuse and neglect to unsubstantiated reports. The 733 reports investigated involved 923 children and 682 adults. Age, prior insult, and unemployment were associated with substantiated cases. Substantiated cases were more likely than unsubstantiated cases to come from intact two-parent homes. Minority children were more likely to be seriously injured than were nonminority children. Younger women and those having legal relationships with the other adult in their household were more likely to inflict severe abuse.
References
1.
GilD.Violence against children. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univer. Press, 1972.
2.
JusticeB.DuncanD.Life crisis as a precursor to child abuse. Public Health Reports, 1976, 91, 110–115.
3.
JusticeB.DuncanD.Child abuse in terms of a public health model. Mental Health and Society, 1977, 4, 110–114.
4.
JusticeB.JusticeR.The abusing family. New York: Human Sciences Press, 1976.
