Rates of Victimization
In 2002 an estimated 896,000 children were victims of maltreatment in the United States, down from 903,000 in 2001. A total of 12.3 children for every one thousand children in the population were victims of abuse or neglect. While this rate of victimization was higher than that for 1999 (11.8 per one thousand children), it was lower than the rates for the previous years in the 1990s. The rate of maltreatment had peaked at 15.3 per one thousand children in 1993. (See Table 4.2.)
Types of Maltreatment
According to Child Maltreatment 2002 more than three out of five maltreated children (60.5%) suffered neglect (including medical neglect). Nearly one-fifth (18.6%) were physically abused, and 9.9% were sexually abused. An additional 6.5% were subjected to emotional, or psychological, maltreatment. Another 18.9% experienced other types of maltreatment, including abandonment, congenital drug addiction, and threats to harm a child. Some children were victims of more than one type of maltreatment.
RATES OF MALTREATMENT BY TYPE. Between 1998 and 2002 the rates of the different types of maltreatment
FIGURE 4.1
fluctuated from year to year. The rate of neglect dropped from 6.9 per one thousand children in the population in 1998 to 6.5 per one thousand children in 1999, rising to 7.3 per one thousand children in 2000. The rate was about the same (7.2 per one thousand children) in 2002. The rates for medical neglect remained constant during the five-year period. The rates for physical abuse and sexual abuse declined, from 2.9 to 2.3 per one thousand children for the former, and from 1.5 to 1.2 per one thousand children for the latter. The rate for psychological abuse remained the same for 1998 and 2002 (0.8 per one thousand children). (See Figure 4.2.)
Gender and Age of Victims
In 2002 more female children (51.9%) were maltreated than their male counterparts (48.1%). Younger children represented most of the maltreated victims. Generally, the older the child gets, the more the likelihood of abuse decreases. The victimization rate for infants and toddlers up through age three was 16 per one thousand children of the same age group, compared to 13.7 per one thousand for children ages four to seven. The rate of victimization for children ages eight to eleven was 11.9 per one thousand; for ages twelve to fifteen, 10.6 per one thousand; and for ages sixteen and seventeen, six per one thousand. (See Figure 4.3.)
Race and Ethnicity of Victims
In 2002 more than half (54.2%) of maltreatment victims were white, and one-quarter (26.1%) were African-American. Hispanics, who may be of any race, accounted for 11% of the victims. Native Americans (1.8%) and
TABLE 4.2
| Rates of children subjected to an investigation and rates of victimization, 1990–2002 | |||||||
| Reporting year | Child population | Investigation rate | States reporting | Total children subjects of an investigation or assessment | Victim rate | States reporting | Total victims |
| Data source: CAF (Combined Aggregate File, or combined numbers from child and agency files and other statistics). | |||||||
| Notes: Victimization and investigation rates were computed by dividing the respective counts of children by the population and multiplying by 1,000. | |||||||
| All totals are rounded to the nearest 100,000. If fewer than 51 states reported data, the total is an estimate based on multiplying the rate by the child population for that year. | |||||||
| SOURCE: "Table 3-3. Rates of Children Subjected to an Investigation and Rates of Victimization, 1990–2002," in Child Maltreatment 2002, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Children's Bureau, 2004 (accessed October 27, 2004) | |||||||
| 1990 | 64,163,192 | 36.1 | 36 | 2,316,000 | 13.4 | 45 | 860,000 |
| 1991 | 65,069,507 | 38.2 | 39 | 2,486,000 | 14.0 | 46 | 911,000 |
| 1992 | 66,073,841 | 41.2 | 41 | 2,722,000 | 15.1 | 48 | 998,000 |
| 1993 | 66,961,573 | 42.1 | 42 | 2,819,000 | 15.3 | 47 | 1,025,000 |
| 1994 | 67,803,294 | 42.1 | 42 | 2,855,000 | 15.2 | 46 | 1,031,000 |
| 1995 | 68,437,378 | 42.2 | 43 | 2,888,000 | 14.7 | 47 | 1,006,000 |
| 1996 | 69,022,127 | 42.0 | 42 | 2,899,000 | 14.7 | 46 | 1,015,000 |
| 1997 | 69,527,944 | 41.9 | 44 | 2,913,000 | 13.7 | 45 | 953,000 |
| 1998 | 69,872,059 | 42.1 | 51 | 2,939,000 | 12.9 | 51 | 904,000 |
| 1999 | 70,199,435 | 41.0 | 50 | 2,878,000 | 11.8 | 50 | 828,000 |
| 2000 | 72,346,696 | 41.9 | 49 | 3,031,000 | 12.2 | 50 | 883,000 |
| 2001 | 72,616,308 | 43.2 | 48 | 3,137,000 | 12.4 | 51 | 903,000 |
| 2002 | 72,894,483 | 43.8 | 50 | 3,193,000 | 12.3 | 51 | 896,000 |
FIGURE 4.2
Asians/Pacific Islanders (0.9%) made up the lowest proportions of victims. (See Figure 4.4.)
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