Risk Factors for Physical Abuse
The Child Abuse Team at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has identified factors that may increase a child's risk for child abuse.
Child abuse has been reported in households of all nationalities and ethnicities. The likelihood of abuse increases in families with incomes below $15,000 per year compared to families with an annual income above $30,000.
Other factors that may increase a child's risk for abuse include prematurity, mental or physical disabilities, and temperamental or needy behavior.
Over 85 percent of perpetrators of child abuse are parents or other relatives of the victim. Caretakers are more likely to abuse children if they:
- Were abused or neglected as children
- Are isolated
- Lack resources to handle stress
- Are young and/or impulsive
- Lack knowledge of child development
- Are substance abusers
- Suffer from mental illness
Abuse is often diagnosed, however, in families in which specific risk factors are absent.
You can download more Child Physical Abuse information in portable document format (.pdf).
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