The National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS) was a congressionally mandated periodic survey of child maltreatment. The results of the first NIS were published in 1981, and those of the second NIS (NIS-2) in 1988. The most recent NIS, the Third National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect, (NIS-3) (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, Washington, DC), was released in 1996. NIS-3 differed from the annual Child Maltreatment reports because NIS-3 findings were based on a nationally representative sample of more than 5,600 professionals in 842 agencies serving forty-two counties. NIS-3 included not only child victims investigated by CPS agencies, but also children seen by community institutions (such as daycare centers, schools, and hospitals) and other investigating agencies (such as public health departments, police, and courts). In addition, victim counts were unduplicated, which means that each child was counted only once.

Definition Standards

NIS-3 used two standardized definitions of abuse and neglect:

• Harm Standard—required that an act or omission must have resulted in demonstrable harm in order to be considered as abuse or neglect
• Endangerment Standard—allowed children who had not yet been harmed by maltreatment to be counted in the estimates of maltreated children if a non-CPS professional considered them to be at risk of harm or if their maltreatment was substantiated or indicated in a CPS investigation

Incidence of Maltreatment

In 1993, under the Harm Standard, an estimated 1,553,800 children were victims of maltreatment, a 67% increase from the NIS-2 estimate (931,000 children) and a 149% increase from the first NIS estimate (625,100 children). Significant increases occurred for all types of abuse and neglect, as compared with the two earlier NIS surveys. The more than 1.5 million child victims of maltreatment in 1993 reflected a yearly incidence rate of 23.1 per one thousand children under age eighteen, or about one in forty-three children. (See Table 4.4.)

In 1993, under the Endangerment Standard, an estimated 2,815,600 children experienced some type of maltreatment. This figure nearly doubled the NIS-2 estimate of 1,424,400. As with the Harm Standard, marked increases occurred for all types of abuse and neglect. The incidence rate was 41.9 per one thousand children under age eighteen, or approximately one in twenty-four children. (See Table 4.5.)

COMPARISON OF MALTREATMENT ESTIMATES UNDER THE TWO STANDARDS. In 1993 the Endangerment Standard included an additional 1,261,800 children under age eighteen (an 81% difference) beyond those counted under the stricter Harm Standard. This means that children included under the Harm Standard represented 55% of those counted under the Endangerment Standard. Harm Standard children accounted for 61% of the Endangerment Standard total of all abused children, and 45% of the Endangerment Standard total of all neglected children.

Characteristics of Abused Children

GENDER. Under both the Harm and Endangerment Standards, more females were subjected to maltreatment than males. Females were sexually abused about three times more often than males. Males, however, were more likely to experience physical and emotional neglect under the Endangerment Standard. Under both standards, males suffered more physical and emotional neglect, while females suffered more educational neglect. Males were at a somewhat greater risk of serious injury and death than females. (See Table 4.6 and Table 4.7.)

AGE. NIS-3 found a lower incidence of maltreatment among younger children, particularly ages zero to five. This may be due to the fact that, prior to reaching school age, children are less observable to community professionals, especially educators—the group most likely to report suspected maltreatment. In addition, NIS-3 noted a disproportionate increase in the incidence of maltreatment among children between the ages of six and fourteen. (See

TABLE 4.4

TABLE 4.5

Figure 4.7 and Figure 4.8.) Sedlak and Broadhurst, the authors of NIS-3, noted a lower incidence of maltreatment among children older than fourteen years. Older children

TABLE 4.6

are more likely to escape if the abuse becomes more prevalent or severe. They are also more able to defend themselves and/or fight back.

TABLE 4.7

Under the Harm Standard, only ten per one thousand children in the zero to two age group experienced overall maltreatment. The numbers were significantly higher for children ages six to seventeen. Under the Endangerment Standard, twenty-six per one thousand children ages zero to two were subjected to overall maltreatment. A slightly higher number of children (29.7 per one thousand children) in the oldest age group (fifteen to seventeen years old) suffered maltreatment of some type. As with the Harm Standard, children between the ages of six and fourteen had a higher incidence of maltreatment. (See Figure 4.8.)

RACE. NIS-3 found no significant differences in race in the incidence of maltreatment. The authors noted that this finding may be somewhat surprising, considering the over-representation of African-American children in the child welfare population and in those served by public agencies. They attributed this lack of race-related difference in maltreatment incidence to the broader range of children identified by NIS-3, compared with the smaller number investigated by public agencies and the even smaller number receiving child protective and other welfare services. NIS-2 also had not found any disproportionate differences in race in relation to maltreatment incidence.

Family Characteristics

FAMILY STRUCTURE. Under the Harm Standard, among children living with single parents, an estimated 27.3 per one thousand under age eighteen suffered some

FIGURE 4.7

FIGURE 4.8

type of maltreatment—almost twice the incidence rate for children living with both parents (15.5 per one thousand). The same rate held true for all types of abuse and neglect. Children living with single parents also had a greater risk of suffering serious injury (10.5 per one thousand) than

TABLE 4.8

did those living with both parents (5.8 per one thousand). (See Table 4.8.)

Under the Endangerment Standard, an estimated 52 per one thousand children living with single parents suffered some type of maltreatment, compared with 26.9 per one thousand living with both parents. Children in single-parent households were abused at a 45% higher rate than those in two-parent households (19.6 versus 13.5 per one thousand) and suffered more than twice as much neglect (38.9 versus 17.6 per one thousand). Children living with single parents (10.5 per one thousand) were also more likely to suffer serious injuries than those living with both parents (5.9 per one thousand). (See Table 4.9.)

FAMILY SIZE. The number of children in the family was related to the incidence of maltreatment. Additional children meant additional tasks and responsibilities for the parents; therefore, it followed that the rates of child maltreatment were higher in these families. Among children in families with four or more children, an estimated 34.5 per one thousand under the Harm Standard and 68.1 per one thousand under the Endangerment Standard suffered some type of maltreatment.

Surprisingly, households with only one child had a higher maltreatment incidence rate than did households with two to three children (22 versus 17.7 per one thousand children under the Harm Standard, and 34.2 versus 34.1 per one thousand children under the Endangerment Standard). The authors thought that an only child might have been in a situation where parental expectations were all focused on that one child. Another explanation was that "only" children might have been in households where the parents were just starting a family and were relatively young and inexperienced.

FAMILY INCOME. Family income was significantly related to the incidence rates of child maltreatment. Under the Harm Standard, children in families with annual incomes less than $15,000 had the highest rate of maltreatment (47 per one thousand). The figure is almost twice as high (95.9 per one thousand) using the Endangerment Standard. Children in families earning less than $15,000 annually also sustained more serious injuries. (See Table 4.10 and Table 4.11.)

Characteristics of Perpetrators

RELATIONSHIP TO THE CHILD. Most child victims (78%) were maltreated by their birth parents. Parents accounted for 72% of physical abuse and 81% of emotional abuse. Almost half (46%) of sexually abused children, however, were violated by someone other than a parent or

TABLE 4.9

parent-substitute. More than a quarter (29%) were sexually abused by a birth parent, and 25% were sexually abused by a parent-substitute, such as a stepparent or a mother's boyfriend. In addition, sexually abused children were more likely to sustain fatal or serious injuries or impairments when birth parents were the perpetrators. (See Table 4.12.)

PERPETRATORS' GENDERS. Overall, children were somewhat more likely to be maltreated by female perpetrators (65%) than by males (54%). Among children maltreated by their natural parents, most (75%) were maltreated by their mothers, and almost half (46%) were maltreated by their fathers. (Children who were maltreated by both parents were included in both "male" and "female" perpetrator counts.) Children who were maltreated by other parents and parent-substitutes were more likely to have been maltreated by a male (85%) than by a female (41%). Four of five children (80%) who were maltreated by other adults were maltreated by males, and only 14% were maltreated by other adults who were females. (See Table 4.13.) Note that the numbers will not add to 100% because many children were maltreated by both parents.)

Neglected children differed from abused children with regard to the gender of the perpetrators. Because mothers or other females tend to be the primary caretakers, children were more likely to suffer all forms of neglect by female perpetrators (87% versus 43% by male perpetrators). In contrast, children were more often abused by males (67%) than by females (40%). (See Table 4.13.)