Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T00:38:39.140Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Household composition and the risk of child abuse and neglect

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

Margo I. Wilson ,
Martin Daly  and
Suzanne J. Weghorst
Margo I. Wilson
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Martin Daly
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Suzanne J. Weghorst
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The 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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , July 1980 , pp. 333 - 340
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Humane Association (1978) National Analysis of Official Child Neglect and Abuse Reporting. American Humane Association, Englewood, Colorado.Google Scholar
Baldwin, J.A. & Oliver, J.E. (1975) Epidemiology and family characteristics of severely-abused children. Br. J. Prev. soc. Med. 29, 205.Google ScholarPubMed
Benson, L. (1968) Fatherhood: A Sociological Perspective. Random House, New York.Google Scholar
Creighton, S.J. & Owtram, P.J. (1977) Child Victims of Physical Abuse. National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, London.Google Scholar
Duberman, L. (1975) The Reconstituted Family. Nelson-Hall, Chicago.Google Scholar
Ebbin, A.J., Gollub, M.H., Stein, A.M. & Wilson, M.G. (1969) Battered child syndrome at the Los Angeles County General Hospital. Am. J. Dis. Child. 118, 660.Google Scholar
Fergusson, D.M., Fleming, J. & O'neill, D.P. (1972) Child Abuse in New Zealand. Government of New Zealand Printer, Wellington.Google Scholar
Garbarino, J. (1976) A preliminary study of some ecological correlates of child abuse: the impact of socioeconomic stress on mothers. Child Dev. 47, 178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gil, D. (1970) Violence Against Children. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Glick, P.C. (1976) Living arrangements of children and young adults. J. comp. fam. Strd. 7, 321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kent, J.T. (1976) A follow-up study of abused children. J. Ped. Psych. 4, 25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klaus, M.H. & Kennell, J.H. (1976) Maternal–infant Bonding. CV Mosby, St. Louis.Google Scholar
Lynch, M.A. & Roberts, J. (1977) Predicting child abuse: signs of bonding failure in the maternity hospital. Br. med. J. 1, 624.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
OC'onnor, S.M., Vietze, P.M., Hopkins, J.B., Altemeier, W.A. (1977) Post-partum extended maternal-infant contact: subsequent mothering and child health. Pediat. Res. 11, 380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parke, R.D. & Sawin, D.B. (1976) The father's role in infancy: a re-evaluation. Fam. Coord. 25, 365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pelton, L.H. (1978) Child abuse and neglect: the myth of classlessness. Am. J. Orthopsychiat. 48, 608.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sills, J.A., Thomas, L.J. & Rosenbloom, L. (1977) Non-accidental injury: a two-year study in central Liverpool. Devl Med. Child Neurol. 19, 26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, S.M., Hanson, R. & Noble, S. (1974) Social aspects of the battered baby syndrome. Br. J. Psychiat. 125, 568.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stafford, R., Backman, E. & Dibona, P. (1977) The division of labor among cohabiting and married couples. J. Marr. Fam. 39, 43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephens, W.N. (1963) The Family in Cross-cultural Perspective. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York.Google Scholar
Sweet, J.A. (1974) The Family Living Arrangements of Children. Working Paper 74–28, University of Wisconsin Center for Demography and Ecology, Madison.Google Scholar
US Bureau of the Census (1977a) Current Population Reports, P-20, No. 306. Government Printing Office, Washington.Google Scholar
US Bureau of the Census (1977b) Current Population Reports, P-20, No. 312. Government Printing Office, Washington.Google Scholar
US Bureau of the Census (1978a) Current Population Reports, P-25, No. 727. Government Printing Office, Washington.Google Scholar
US Bureau of the Census (1978b) Current Population Reports, P-60, No. 114. Government Printing Office, Washington.Google Scholar