Family characteristics of children in cases of alleged abuse and neglect

✍ Scribed by J. Carpenter; Elmarie Egan-Sage

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 167 KB
• Volume: 8
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0952-9136
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0852(199909/10)8:5<301::aid-car555>3.0.co;2-z

✦ Synopsis

Characteristics of Children in Cases of Alleged Abuse and Neglect

Information is presented about the family composition, structure and signi®cant relationships of 2069 children referred to an English social services department for suspected abuse and neglect. Of these children, 373 (18%) were subsequently placed on the child abuse register. Very few members of extended families were recorded as being signi®cant in the lives of these children. Contrary to earlier research, less than one-third of children lived with a lone or unmarried mother. However, children whose parents were married and living together were less likely to be registered. Nearly half of the mothers and one-®fth of the fathers of registered children were aged 21 or less at their child's birth. Compared to all those referred, a signi®cantly larger number of children registered were conceived by younger or older men. Two in ®ve of the siblings of registered children were under 6, and the younger the siblings, the more likely the child was to be registered. Children with two or more siblings were also more likely to be registered.