What factors would indicate that a child is at risk of harm?

Contributing Factors to Child Abuse and Neglect Children’s Wisconsin

Outlines societal, adult, and child contributing factors to the risk of child abuse and neglect. Child factors listed include illness, disability, crying, feeding problems, tantrums, biting, disobedience and lying, physical appearance, and poor grades.

LGBTQ Youth and Sexual Abuse: Information for Mental Health Professionals (PDF - 1,326 KB) National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2014)

Provides information on issues and concerns for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth related to sexual orientation and sexual abuse. It also includes a section for parents on issues to be aware of regarding LGBTQ youth, including sexual abuse.

Prevalence Of Adverse Childhood Experiences (aces) Among US Children (article in Children and Youth Services Review)

Crouch & Probst & Radcliff & Bennett & McKinney (2019)

Child Abuse and Neglect, 92

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Examines the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among children in the United States to determine the relationship between child and family characteristics and the likelihood of reported exposure to ACEs.

Risk Factors National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments

Reveals how runaway and homeless youth, especially lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender youth, are more likely to be victims of sexual abuse and child trafficking.

Selected Library Resources: Child Factors Associated With Maltreatment
Presents research articles from prior to 2016 related to child factors associated with child abuse and neglect and that have contributed to the literature on the social ecological framework for conceptualizing risk factors for child maltreatment.

Age

Adolescent Maltreatment in the Child Welfare System and Developmental Patterns of Sexual Risk Behaviors Fowler, Motley, Zhang, Rolls-Reutz, & Landsverk (2015)

Child Maltreatment, 20(1)

Child Maltreatment Child Trends (2019)

Explores how younger children have a higher risk for child maltreatment and examines trends in risk factors and key facts about child maltreatment in the United States from 1990 to 2017.

InBrief: The Science of Neglect Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child

Discusses how the absence of caregiver responsiveness can cause harm to a young child's developing brain and affect executive functioning skills and the body’s stress response. The webpage includes a 5-minute video and links to a resource that explores additional research on this topic.

Protective Factors Buffer Life Stress and Behavioral Health Outcomes Among High-Risk Youth Sharma, Mustanski, Dick, Bolland, & Kertes (2019)

Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47

Securing a Bright Future: Maltreated Infants and Toddlers Cohen & Herrick (2016) ZERO TO THREE

Emphasizes the developmental needs of infants and toddlers in the child welfare system and discusses how maltreatment of this age group negatively affects intellectual functioning and social and emotional well-being. The brief outlines policy recommendations to ensure better care for young children in foster care.

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Health

Maltreatment of Children Under Age 2 With Specific Birth Defects: A Population-Based Study (PDF - 338 KB) Van Horne, Moffitt, Canfield, Case, Greely, Morgan, & Mitchell (2015)

Pediatrics, 136(6)

Special Needs, Higher Abuse Risk Sirotnak (2017)

Discusses how children with special health-care needs may be at higher risk for maltreatment.

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Disabilities

Abuse and Exploitation of People With Developmental Disabilities Disability Justice

Explains the high risk of abuse and exploitation experienced by children with developmental disabilities and provides links to information about physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, psychological abuse, exploitation, financial fraud, and other issues.

For Children With Disabilities Chicago Children's Advocacy Center

Outlines special considerations for preventing, recognizing, and responding to the abuse of children with disabilities.

Maltreatment Risk Among Children With Disabilities Maclean, Sims, Bower, Leonard, Stanley, & O’Donnell (2017)

Pediatrics, 139(4)

Recognizing and Preventing Abuse Autism Speaks

Discusses safety concerns of children with autism and developmental disabilities and their increased risk of abuse, violence, and neglect. The webpage also provides information about how to prevent, recognize, and respond to abuse as well as a list of additional resources.

Examines the statistics and research related to maltreatment of children with disabilities, risk factors, and strategies for prevention. Issues encountered when assessing a child with a disability for maltreatment are explored; and information about promising prevention, collaboration, and training approaches are outlined.

Safety and Children With Disabilities: Abuse and Neglect U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019)

Provides facts about disability and maltreatment and discusses steps parents can take to protect children with disabilities from abuse and neglect.

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Research has uncovered a number of risk factors or attributes commonly associated with maltreatment. Children in families and environments where these factors exist have a greater likelihood of experiencing maltreatment.

A greater understanding of risk factors can help professionals working with children and families to identify stressors and situations that put them at increased risk for child abuse and neglect and intervene and support them before maltreatment occurs. It must be emphasized, however, that while certain factors often are present among families where maltreatment occurs, this does not mean that the presence of these factors causes child abuse and neglect.

Certain conditions or attributes, called protective factors, may lessen the likelihood of children being abused or neglected. By identifying protective factors, professionals can acquire a more holistic view of family experiences and engage with other service providers in developing a multiservice system response. Understanding the role of protective factors is as important as recognizing risk factors.

Common factors associated with increased risk of child maltreatment are often categorized as follows:

This annual report summarizes child abuse statistics submitted by States to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) during federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2019. The data are presented in aggregate and by State, and trends are reported when available. Statistics are presented for the following: referrals and reports of child maltreatment, characteristics of victims and nonvictims, fatalities that occurred as a result of maltreatment, characteristics of perpetrators of maltreatment, and services to prevent maltreatment and to assist children and families. The final chapter presents analyses of specific subsets of children. During FFY 2019, an estimated 656,000 children were determined to be victims of abuse or neglect, a decrease from FFY 2018; the number of children who received a child protective services investigation response or alternative response decreased to 3,476,000 in 2019; 84.5% of victims suffer a single type of maltreatment, with 61% suffering neglect only, 10.3% suffering physical abuse only, and 7.2% suffering sexual abuse only; children in their first year of life have the highest rate of victimization at 25.7 per 1,000 children; American-Indian or Alaska Native children have the highest rate of victimization at 14.8 per 1,000 in the population of the same race or ethnicity, and African American children have the second highest rate at 13.7 per 1,000; 83% of perpetrators are between the ages of 18 and 44, 53% are female, 48.9% are White, and 77.5% are a parent to their victim; 60.8% of victims and 27.7% of nonvictims received post-response services; 29 States reported 877 unique victims of sex trafficking in FFY 2019; and an estimated 1,840 children died of abuse and neglect at a rate of 2.50 per 100,000 children in the national population, an increase from the 1,780 in FFY 2018. Numerous tables and figures.

Presents information from a review of current research linking protective factors to well-being for the five in-risk populations served by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF): children exposed to domestic violence, homeless and runaway youth, pregnant and parenting teens, victims of child abuse and neglect, and youth in and aging out of foster care. Topics include individual skills and capacities that can improve the well-being of children and youth; how parents, guardians, and others can contribute to the well-being of these children; and strategies for practitioners. A model framework for organizing and applying protective factors is included, as well as a table listing specific protective factors for ACYF populations by level of influence. This publication is part of a series of five factsheets for practitioners exploring the importance of protective factors in working with in-risk populations served by ACYF.

Presents information from a review of current research on specific protective factors that carry moderate or strong association with improved well-being for victims of child abuse and neglect. Topics include individual skills and capacities that can improve the well-being of children who have been abused or neglected; how parents, guardians, friends, and other adults can contribute to the well-being of these children and youth; strategies for practitioners; and resources for more information. This publication is part of a series of five factsheets for practitioners exploring the importance of protective factors in working with in-risk populations served by the Administration on Children, Youth and Families.

Risk and Protective Factors U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Describes individual, family, and community factors associated with child abuse and neglect.