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Victims of maltreatment are
children who have been the subjects of allegations of abuse or
neglect that have been substantiated or indicated by a CPS agency.
This section describes the numbers and rates of victims; types and
rates of maltreatment; victim demographics such as age, sex, race,
and Hispanic ethnicity; and prior service histories.
4.1 Rate of Victimization
(SDC)
Based on data from 44 States, it was estimated that there were
approximately 984,000 victims of maltreatment (appendix E, table E–4), a decrease from
more than 1 million victims in 1996 in the 50 States, the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. The rate of
child victims was 13.9 per 1,000 children in the general population
in 1997, which is slightly higher than the rate of 13.4 victims per
1,000 children in 1990. The rate of child victims per 1,000
children has continued to drop since a peak in 1993 of 15.3 victims
per 1,000 children in the general population (figure 4–1). Among States that reported
data for 1997, 33.4 percent of all children who were the subjects
of investigations were found to be victims of maltreatment.
Figure 4–1 Victimization Rates, 1990–1997 (SDC)
N=54 jurisdictions
4.2 Types of Maltreatment
(SDC)
Forty-three States reported that there were 440,944 victims of
neglect; 197,557 victims of physical abuse; and 98,339 victims of
sexual abuse. There were 49,338 victims of psychological abuse or
neglect; 18,894 victims of medical neglect; and 103,576 victims of
unknown and other maltreatment.
Based on the number of child victims in the 41 reporting States (798,358), more than half of child victims (54.7 percent) were victims of neglect, while a quarter (24.5 percent) suffered physical abuse. Twelve percent were sexually abused. Child victims of psychological abuse or neglect or medical neglect accounted for 6.2 and 2.4 percent of all victims, respectively, while 11.0 percent were subjected to other types of maltreatment, such as "abandonment," "congenital drug addiction," and "threats to harm the child." Percentages add to more than 100 percent because children could have been victims of more than one type of abuse.
Data from 35 States were compared across years (figure 4–2). The proportion of victims who were neglected increased by 7.5 percentage points between 1990 and 1997. The proportion of those who were sexually abused declined by 4.8 percentage points, while the proportion of those physically abused declined by 2.3 percentage points. The proportion of victims who experienced other types of maltreatment increased by 2.5 percentage points.
Figure 4-2 Comparison of Victims by Type of Maltreatment, 1990 and 1997 (SDC)
1990: N=611,924 victims in 35 States
1997: N=689,513 victims in 35 States
4.3 Age and Sex of Victims
(SDC)
In 40 States, infants were the largest single-year age group
of maltreatment victims, accounting for 6.9 percent (figure 4–3). Each single-year age group
from age 1–9 had about 6 percent of all victims. Each
single-year age group between 10–14 accounted for
approximately 5 percent of all victims.
When victims are grouped in 4-year age categories, those 4–7 years old were the highest proportion of victims (26.2 percent). Children 0–3 were 24.7 percent of victims; children 8–11 years old were 21.7 percent; children 12–15 years old were 18.6 percent; and children older than 16 were 6 percent.
Figure 4–3 Victims by
Age, 1997 (SDC)
N=668,059 victims in 40 States
There were 316,842 male victims (47.4 percent) and 349, 606 female victims (52.3 percent). The sex of 2,609 victims (0.4 percent) was not reported. The percentage of victims by sex has remained stable over the 8 years of SDC data collection.
4.4 Victims by Type of Maltreatment
by Age and by Sex (DCDC)
Based on case-level data from 16 States, age was related to type of
maltreatment (table 4–1). Neglect
victims were more likely to be younger children; 82,361 (63.0
percent) were younger than 8 years old. Conversely, victims of
physical abuse and victims of sexual abuse were more likely to be
age 8 or older —28,370 (58.9 percent) and 14,177 (64.0
percent), respectively.
Slightly more victims of physical abuse, neglect, and medical neglect were male (96,390) than were female (89,941). However, female victims of sexual abuse (17,185) outnumbered male victims of sexual abuse (5,262) three to one (table 4–2).
Table 4-1 Victims by Type of Maltreatment and Age (DCDC)
| Age Group | Maltreatment | Total | |||||||
| Physical Abuse |
Neglect | Medical Neglect | Sexual Abuse | Psychological Abuse | Other Abuse | Multiple Maltreatments | |||
| 0-3 | Count | 7,599 | 44,471 | 3,136 | 2,048 | 2,263 | 12,532 | 12,415 | 84,464 |
| % within Child Age | 9.0% | 52.7% | 3.7% | 2.4% | 2.7% | 14.8% | 14.7% | 100.0% | |
| % within Maltreatment | 15.7% | 34.0% | 52.4% | 9.2% | 20.7% | 31.8% | 25.8% | 27.6% | |
| 4-7 | Count | 12,296 | 37,890 | 1,143 | 5,968 | 2,936 | 10,596 | 12,802 | 83,631 |
| % within Child Age | 14.7% | 45.3% | 1.4% | 7.1% | 3.5% | 12.7% | 15.3% | 100.0% | |
| % within Maltreatment | 25.5% | 29.0% | 19.1% | 26.9% | 26.8% | 26.9% | 26.6% | 27.4% | |
| 8-11 | Count | 11,272 | 27,017 | 889 | 5,539 | 2,889 | 8,387 | 10,914 | 66,907 |
| % within Child Age | 16.8% | 40.4% | 1.3% | 8.3% | 4.3% | 12.5% | 16.3% | 100.0% | |
| % within Maltreatment | 23.4% | 20.7% | 14.9% | 25.0% | 26.4% | 21.3% | 22.7% | 21.9% | |
| 12-15 | Count | 13,212 | 16,989 | 635 | 6,515 | 2,301 | 6,372 | 9,604 | 55,628 |
| % within Child Age | 23.8% | 30.5% | 1.1% | 11.7% | 4.1% | 11.5% | 17.3% | 100.0% | |
| % within Maltreatment | 27.4% | 13.0% | 10.6% | 29.4% | 21.0% | 16.2% | 20.0% | 18.2% | |
| 16+ | Count | 3,886 | 4,259 | 181 | 2,123 | 564 | 1,564 | 2,369 | 14,946 |
| % within Child Age | 26.0% | 28.5% | 1.2% | 14.2% | 3.8% | 10.5% | 15.9% | 100.0% | |
| % within Maltreatment | 8.1% | 3.3% | 3.0% | 9.6% | 5.1% | 4.0% | 4.9% | 4.9% | |
| Totals | Count | 48,265 | 130,626 | 5,984 | 22,193 | 10,953 | 39,451 | 48,104 | 305,576 |
| % within Child Age | 15.8% | 42.7% | 2.0% | 7.3% | 3.6% | 12.9% | 15.7% | 100.0% | |
| % within Maltreatment | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |
| Table 4-2 Victims by Type of Maltreatment and Sex (DCDC) | ||||
| Maltreatment | Child Sex | Total | ||
| Male | Female | |||
| Physical Abuse | Count | 25,269 | 23,495 | 48,764 |
| % within Maltreatment | 51.8% | 48.2% | 100.0% | |
| % within Child Sex | 17.0% | 14.8% | 15.9% | |
| Neglect | Count | 67,966 | 63,625 | 131,591 |
| % within Maltreatment | 51.6% | 48.4% | 100.0% | |
| % within Child Sex | 45.6% | 40.1% | 42.8% | |
| Medical Neglect | Count | 3,155 | 2,821 | 5,976 |
| % within Maltreatment | 52.8% | 47.2% | 100.0% | |
| % within Child Sex | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1.9% | |
| Sexual Abuse | Count | 5,262 | 17,185 | 22,447 |
| % within Maltreatment | 23.4% | 76.6% | 100.0% | |
| % within Child Sex | 3.5% | 10.8% | 7.3% | |
| Psychological Abuse | Count | 5,382 | 5,647 | 11,029.00 |
| % within Maltreatment | 48.8% | 51.2% | 100.0% | |
| % within Child Sex | 3.6% | 3.6% | 3.6% | |
| Other Abuse | Count | 19,147 | 20,183 | 39,330 |
| % within Maltreatment | 48.7% | 51.3% | 100.0% | |
| % within Child Sex | 12.9% | 12.7% | 12.8% | |
|
Multiple Maltreatments |
Count | 22,789 | 25,541 | 48,330 |
| % within Maltreatment | 47.2% | 52.8% | 100.0% | |
| % within Child Sex | 15.3% | 16.1% | 15.7% | |
| Total | Count | 148,970 | 158,497 | 307,467 |
| % within Maltreatment | 48.5% | 51.5% | 100.0% | |
| % within Child Sex | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | |
4.5 Race and Hispanic Ethnicity of
Victims (SDC)
Forty States provided data on race. Excluding victims classified as
"other" or "unknown," two-thirds (66.7 percent) of all victims were
white, 29.5 percent were African American, 2.5 percent were
American Indian/Alaska Native, and 1.3 percent were Asian/Pacific
Islander. In 35 States, 13.3 percent of victims were Hispanic,
compared to 18.8 percent of the population of these States.
The proportions of victims who were African American or American Indian/Alaska Native were two times greater than the proportions of those children in the general population (figure 4–4). The proportion of victims who were White or Asian/Pacific Islander was lower than the proportions of those children in the general population.
Figure 4–4 Comparison
of Children in the Population and
Child Victims by Race, 1997 (SDC)
N = 585,512 victims in 40 States. Population data for children are 1997 estimates in the same 40 States. For comparison purposes, the SDC categories "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" have been combined, and "Other" and "Unknown" have been excluded.
4.6 Prior Service Histories of
Victims (SDC)
Some victims of maltreatment had received family preservation
services or had been reunified with their families in the previous
5 years. Family preservation services include services to prevent
placement, to support the reunification of children with their
families, or to support continued placement in permanent living
arrangements. Data from seven States indicate that
33,338 victims (24.2 percent) had received family preservation services within the previous 5 years (appendix E, table E–5). Data from nine States indicate that 9,224 victims (5.3 percent) had been previously reunited with their families (appendix E, table E–6).
