Mm. Coleman et al., REGIONAL COMPARISONS OF CHILD-ABUSE AND RELATED VARIABLES IN THE UNITED-STATES, The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology, 16(4), 1995, pp. 314-319
The objective of this article is to familiarize the health care profes
sional with 1990 national data on child abuse and to review some of th
e trends reported in the literature. The United States was divided int
o Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. Data were collected, analyzed,
and transformed to calculate the incidence and types of abuse reported
by region. Variables of interest were income, marital status, perpetr
ator, age of victim, and drug use by region. To determine significant
differences among regions for each type of abuse and related variable,
frequency distributions were calculated and chi-squared tests were us
ed. State data summaries were measured for correlation analysis. The W
est was highest in reported incidence of child abuse (5.9%) and, speci
fically, physical abuse (36.7%). California reported 55% of the physic
al abuse in the West. In all regions, neglect and physical maltreatmen
t were reported more than sexual and emotional abuse. The incidence of
neglect in the south (52.8%) was greater than in any other region and
did not correlate to income in this region. Early detection of child
abuse can aid in preventing fatalities. This information should increa
se awareness of child abuse and result in an increase in reporting if
abuse is suspected.