Measuring child maltreatment in the United Kingdom: A study of the prevalence of child abuse and neglect☆
Introduction
Main sources of data on the extent of child maltreatment in the UK are official statistics such as the child protection register (Department of Health, 2000), children referred to child protection services (Department of Health, 2001), or statistics on offenses against children (Kilsby, 2001). With the exception of the few UK prevalence studies conducted on specific forms of maltreatment, either sexual (Baker & Duncan, 1985; Kelly, Regan, & Burton, 1991) or physical (Smith, Bee, Heverin, & Nobes, 1995), or both (Creighton & Russell, 1995), very little is known about other forms of maltreatment that are not reported to the authorities.
This article provides the results of a national study undertaken to assess the prevalence of abuse (physical, sexual, and emotional) and neglect, collectively described as maltreatment (Cawson, Wattam, Brooker, & Kelly, 2000). The research is the only UK study, and one of the few worldwide, to have addressed the issue of maltreatment comprehensively, in a large random probability sample of the general population. The study sought to establish measures of maltreatment which are robust and replicable and which address borderline areas where there is known to be uncertainty and public debate. For this reason the research was based in a context of broader aspects of child rearing.
Attitudes are important to understand when measuring prevalence since there may be a relationship between attitudes, perceptions, self-reporting, and experience of maltreatment. Previous studies have found that many people do not perceive childhood experiences such as “being whipped or beaten to the point of laceration” (Steele, 1997) as abuse because there is a tendency to believe that the discipline they experienced was normal and deserved (Bower & Knutson, 1996). Subjective and objective definitions of maltreatment will give varying prevalence rates (Carlin et al., 1994). However, such factors should not affect responses to descriptive questions such as, “has anyone ever hit you with an object?” This is reflected in discrepancies detected in studies where respondents are requested to reply to a range of selected violent behaviors and subsequently asked whether they rate themselves as abused. For example, a study of over 4,500 university students found that while 9% of the sample could be “conservatively” classified as physically abused, only 27% of this group also labeled themselves as abused (Berger, Knutson, Mehm, & Perkins, 1988). Experience of physical abuse has also been found to impact on attitudes toward the appropriateness of physical punishment. People reporting histories of physical abuse, who rate their own experiences as deserved or normal, rate physical punishment as more appropriate than those who have not been so treated (Kelder, McNamara, Carlson, & Lynn, 1991), and a direct relationship has been established between childhood experience and disciplinary attitudes (Bower & Knutson, 1996). The present study therefore collected data on attitudes, experiences of specified behaviors, and self-assessment of abuse. In this initial analysis, maltreatment was researcher assessed according to levels of severity of the behavior (likelihood of leading to harm), actual harm reported, frequency of behavior, and relationship of the perpetrator. Details of researcher-assessed definition levels (serious, intermediate, and cause for concern) inclusion criteria and rates of self-assessed abuse for each category are given below.
Section snippets
Subjects and methods
A random probability sampling technique was employed using the Postcode Address File as the basic sampling frame. Six hundred and thirty-three postcode sectors throughout the United Kingdom were selected with probability proportional to the population of 18- to 24-year-olds after stratification. A total of 90 addresses were selected in each postcode sector resulting in 56,970 addresses being sampled. Where successful contact was made, details of any 18- to 24-year-olds in the household were
Normal family life
Over 90% of respondents agreed that they had a “warm and loving family background” and had, at some point, lived with both birth parents together; 91% described themselves as being very or fairly close to their mothers and 78% to their fathers. Most often discipline was based on reasoning, explanation, and non-physical punishment (87%). Almost three quarters had received some physical discipline which was most often described as mild and infrequent, taking the form of a slap on the leg, arm, or
Discussion
Seven percent of the current sample reported experiences that could be defined as severe physical abuse, 6% serious absence of physical care and 5% serious lack of supervision. Six percent were defined as emotionally maltreated and 10% of respondents had been abused involving sexual contact either by parents/carers or by other people. Previous research on community samples in the UK found high levels of corporal punishment (Creighton & Russell, 1995; Newson & Newson, 1989), with one study (
Acknowledgments
Fieldwork was carried out by BMRB under the management of Sue Brooker and Graham Kelly. The study was initiated by Philip Noyes.
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This study was funded by the NSPCC.