Abstract
Child maltreatment is a prevalent and costly problem. Millions of children worldwide experience some form of parental maltreatment, and it has lasting consequences, costing society trillions of dollars. This chapter examines child maltreatment through an economic lens, building on theoretical approaches for conceptualizing how different types of maltreatment occur. In addition, the chapter describes available data sources, spotlighting the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States. Finally, the chapter reviews the incidence of child maltreatment and evidence on risk factors, consequences, and promising interventions. Risk factors can be categorized into six groups: parent or caregiver factors, child factors, family factors, community or environmental factors, factors for recurrence, and co-occurring factors. Parent or caregiver factors and family factors seem to be the strongest predictors of child maltreatment. Economists should care about child maltreatment because the consequences, such as poor health and delinquency, contribute to inequality and reduce the efficiency and effectiveness of other social investments. In general, more evidence is needed to better understand the causal mechanisms of the different types of maltreatment and to implement more effective policies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Abt Associates (2022) Title IV-E prevention services clearinghouse. Abt Associates. https://preventionservices.abtsites.com/. Accessed 29 Jan 2022
Akabayashi H (2006) An equilibrium model of child maltreatment. J Econ Dyn Control 30:993–1025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jedc.2005.03.010
Australian Institute of Family Studies (2018) What is child abuse and neglect? Australian Institute of Family Studies. https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/what-child-abuse-and-neglect. Accessed 25 May 2022
Baron E, Goldstein E, Wallace C (2020) Suffering in silence: how COVID-19 school closures inhibit the reporting of child maltreatment. J Public Econ 190:104258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2020.104258
Baumrind D (1994) The social context of child maltreatment. Fam Relat 43:360–368. https://doi.org/10.2307/585365
Belsky J (1980) Child maltreatment: an ecological integration. Am Psychol 35:320–335. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.35.4.320
Berger L, Waldfogel J (2011) Economic determinants and consequences of child maltreatment. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/5kgf09zj7h9t-en
Bowlus A, McKenna K, Day T, Wright D (2003) The economic costs and consequences of child abuse in Canada: report to the law Commission of Canada. Law Commission of Canada. https://cwrp.ca/sites/default/files/publications/en/Report-Economic_Cost_Child_AbuseEN.pdf. Accessed 25 May 2022
Brooks-Gunn J, Schneider W, Waldfogel J (2013) The great recession and the risk for child maltreatment. Child Abuse Negl 37:721–729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.08.004
Bullinger L, Feely M, Raissian K et al (2020) Heed neglect, disrupt child maltreatment: a call to action for researchers. Int J Child Maltreat 3:93–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42448-019-00026-5
Bullinger L, Lindo J, Schaller J (2021a) Economic determinants of child maltreatment. In: Marciano A, Ramello G (eds) Encyclopedia of law and economics. Springer, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7883-6_583-2
Bullinger L, Raissian K, Schneider W (2021b) The power of the future: intergenerational income mobility and child maltreatment in the United States. Child Abuse Negl. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105175
Cabrera-Hernandez F, Padilla-Romo M (2020) Hidden violence: how COVID-19 school closures reduced the reporting of child maltreatment. Working Paper
Card D, Dahl G (2011) Family violence and football: the effect of unexpected emotional cues on violent behavior. Q J Econ 126:103–143. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjr001
Chikwava F, Cordier R, Ferrante A, O’Donnell M, Speyer R, Parsons L (2021) Research using population-based administration data integrated with longitudinal data in child protection settings: a systematic review. PLoS One 16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249088
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2019) Definitions of child abuse and neglect. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2022) Risk factors that contribute to child abuse and neglect. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington. https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/can/factors/. Accessed 29 Jan 2022
CLOSER (2018) Explore the studies. https://www.closer.ac.uk/explore-the-studies/. Accessed 27 May 2022
Cobb-Clark D, Salamanca N, Zhu A (2019) Parenting style as an investment in human development. J Popul Econ 32:1315–1352. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-018-0703-2
Conti G, Pizzo E, Morris S, Melnychuk M (2021) The economic costs of child maltreatment in UK. Health Econ 30:3087–3105. https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4409
Doidge J, Higgins D, Delfabbro P, Edwards B, Vassallo S, Toumbourou J, Segal L (2017) Economic predictors of child maltreatment in an Australian population-based birth cohort. Child Youth Serv Rev 72:14–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.10.012
Esposito T, Trocmé N, Fallon B, Delaye A, Caldwell H, Doucet M (2020) Canadian child welfare administrative data knowledge exchange summary report. Public Health Agency of Canada
Finkelhor D, Saito K, Jones L (2018) Updated trends in child maltreatment, 2016. Crimes against children research center. Retrieved on January 15, 2022. from http://unh.edu/ccrc/pdf/Updated%20trends%202016.pdf
Finkelhor D, Turner H, Wormuth B, Vanderminden J, Hamby S (2019) Corporal punishment: current rates from a National Survey. J Child Fam Stud 28:1991–1997. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01426-4
Fitzpatrick M, Benson C, Bondurant S (2020) Beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic: the role of teachers and schools in reporting child maltreatment. Working paper no. 27033. National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA
Fletcher J, Schurer S (2017) Origins of adulthood personality: the role of adverse childhood experiences. B.E. journal of. Econ Anal Policy:17. https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2015-0212
Garbarino J (1977) The human ecology of child maltreatment: a conceptual model for research. J Marriage Fam 39:721–735. https://doi.org/10.2307/350477
Gilbert R, Widom C, Browne K, Fergusson D, Webb E, Janson S (2009) Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries. Lancet 373:68–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61706-7
Gilbert R, Fluke J, O’Donnell M, Gonzalez-Izquierdo A, Brownell M, Gulliver P, Janson S, Sidebotham P (2012) Child maltreatment: variation in trends and policies in six developed countries. Lancet 379:758–772. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61087-8
Gubbels J, van der Put C, Assink M (2019) The effectiveness of parent training programs for child maltreatment and their components: a meta-analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health 16:2404. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16132404
Hamby S, Finkelhor D, Turner H, Ormrod R (2010) The overlap of witnessing partner violence with child maltreatment and other victimizations in a nationally representative survey of youth. Child Abuse Negl 34:737–741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2010.03.001
Hillis S, Mercy J, Amobi A et al (2016) Global prevalence of past-year violence against children: a systematic review and minimum estimates. Pediatrics 137(3):e20154079
Hoedeman F, Puiman P, Smits A, Dekker M, Diderich-Lolkes de Beer H, Laribi S et al (2021) Recognition of child maltreatment in emergency departments in Europe: should we do better? PLoS One 16(2):e0246361
Markowitz S, Grossman M (1998) Alcohol regulation and domestic violence towards children. Contemp Econ Policy 16:309–320. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-7287.1998.tb00521.x
Mathews B, Kenny M (2008) Mandatory reporting legislation in the United States, Canada, and Australia: a cross-jurisdictional review of key features, differences, and issues. Child Maltreat 13:50–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559507310613
Mathews B, Lee X, Norman R (2016) Impact of a new mandatory reporting law on reporting and identification of child sexual abuse: a seven year time trend analysis. Child Abuse Negl 56:62–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.04.009
McCarthy M, Taylor P, Norman R, Pezzullo L, Tucci J, Goddard C (2016) The lifetime economic and social costs of child maltreatment in Australia. Child Youth Serv Rev 71:217–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.11.014
Misheva V, Webbink D, Martin N (2017) The effect of child maltreatment on illegal and problematic behaviour: new evidence on the ‘cycle of violence’ using twins data. J Popul Econ 30:1035–1067. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-017-0642-3
National Research Council (2014) New directions in child abuse and neglect research. National Academies Press, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.17226/18331
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (2022) What is child abuse? https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/. Accessed 27 May 2022
Paxson C, Waldfogel J (2002) Work, welfare, and child maltreatment. J Labor Econ 20:435–474. https://doi.org/10.1086/339609
Pecora P, White C, Jackson L, Wiggins T (2009) Mental health of current and former recipients of foster care: a review of recent studies in the USA. Child Fam Soc Work 14:132–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2009.00618.x
Peterson C, Florence C, Klevens J (2018) The economic burden of child maltreatment in the United States, 2015. Child Abuse Negl 86:178–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.09.018
Prettyman A (2021) For the good of the kids: three essays about the economics of child welfare. Dissertation, Georgia State University. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aysps_dissertations/33
Public Health Agency of Canada (2010) Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect – 2008: Major Findings. https://cwrp.ca/sites/default/files/publications/en/CIS-2008-rprt-eng.pdf. Accessed 27 May 2022
Putnam-Hornstein E, Needell B, Rhodes A (2013) Understanding risk and protective factors for child maltreatment: the value of integrated, population-based data. Child Abuse Negl 37:116–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2012.08.006
Putnam-Hornstein E, Cederbaum J, King B, Eastman A, Trickett P (2015) A population-level and longitudinal study of adolescent mothers and intergenerational maltreatment. Am J Epidemiol 181:496–503. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwu321
Raissian K, Bullinger L (2017) Money matters: does the minimum wage affect child maltreatment rates? Child Youth Serv Rev 72:60–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.09.033
Ryan J, Jacob B, Gross M, Perron B, Moore A, Ferguson S (2018) Early exposure to child maltreatment and academic outcomes. Child Maltreat 23:365–375. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559518786815
Seiglie C (2004) Understanding child outcomes: an application to child abuse and neglect. Rev Econ Househ 2:143–160. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:REHO.0000031611.38185.d3
Sethi D, Yon Y, Parekh N, Anderson T, Huber J, et al (2018) European status report on preventing child maltreatment. World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/342240. Accessed 22 May 2022
Sidebotham P, Heron J (2006) Child maltreatment in the “children of the nineties”: a cohort study of risk factors. Child Abuse Negl 30:497–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.11.005
Stith S, Liu T, Davies C, Boykin E, Alder M, Harris J, Som A, McPherson M, Dees J (2009) Risk factors in child maltreatment: a meta-analytic review of the literature. Aggress Violent Behav 14:13–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2006.03.006
Tonmyr L, Mathews B, Shields M, Hovdestad W, Afifi T (2018) Does mandatory reporting legislation increase contact with child protection? A legal doctrinal review and an analytical examination. BMC Public Health 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5864-0
U.S. Children’s Bureau (2021) Child maltreatment 2019. U.S. Children’s Bureau, Washington. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/research-data-technology/statistics-research/child-maltreatment. Accessed 9 Jan 2022
U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2014) SAMHSA’s concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville
Warren E, Font S (2015) Housing insecurity, maternal stress, and child maltreatment: an application of the family stress model. Soc Serv Rev 89:9–39. https://doi.org/10.1086/680043
Weinberg B (2001) An incentive model of the effect of parental income on children. J Polit Econ 109:266–280. https://doi.org/10.1086/319556
World Health Organization (2016) INSPIRE: seven strategies for ending violence against children. http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/inspire/en/. Accessed 27 May 2022
World Health Organization (2020) Child maltreatment. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/child-maltreatment. Accessed 24 Jan 2022
Zhang S, Conner A, Lim Y, Lefmann T (2021) Trauma-informed care for children involved with the child welfare system: a meta-analysis. Child Abuse Negl 122:105269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105296
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Prettyman, A., Ribar, D.C. (2022). Child Abuse and Neglect. In: Zimmermann, K.F. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_234-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_234-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57365-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57365-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences