Abstract
Gender inequity is proposed as a societal-level risk factor for child maltreatment. However, most cross-national research examining this association is limited to developing countries and has used limited measures of gender inequity and child homicides as a proxy for child maltreatment. To examine the relationship between gender inequity and child maltreatment, we used caregivers’ reported use of severe physical punishment (proxy for physical abuse) and children under 5 left alone or under the care of another child younger than 10 years of age (supervisory neglect) and three indices of gender inequity (the Social and Institutional Gender Index, the Gender Inequality Index, and the Gender Gap Index) from 57 countries, over half of which were developing countries. We found all three gender inequity indices to be significantly associated with physical abuse and two of the three to be significantly associated with neglect, after controlling for country-level development. Based on these findings, efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect might benefit from reducing gender inequity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baron, L., & Straus, M. A. (1987). Four theories of rape: A macrosociological analysis. Social Problems, 34(5), 467–489.
Briggs, C. M., & Cutright, P. (1994). Structural and cultural determinants of child homicide: A cross national analysis. Violence and Victims, 9(1), 3–16.
Brooks-Gunn, J., Schneider, W., & Waldfogel, J. (2013). The great recession and the risk for child maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 37(10), 721–729. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.08.004.
Butchart, A., & Engström, K. (2002). Sex- and age-specific relations between economic development, economic inequality and homicide rates in people aged 0–24 years: A cross-sectional analysis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 80(10), 797–805.
Christoffel, K. K., Kiang, L., & Stamler, J. (1981). Epidemiology of fatal child abuse: International mortality data. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 34(2), 57–64. doi:10.1016/0021-9681(81)90051-5.
Coulton, C. J., Crampton, D. S., Irwin, M., Spilsbury, J. C., & Korbin, J. E. (2007). How neighborhoods influence child maltreatment: A review of the literature and alternative pathways. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31(11), 1117–1142. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.03.023.
Fiala, R., & LaFree, G. (1988). Cross-national determinants of child homicide. American Sociological Review, 53(3), 432–445. doi:10.2307/2095650.
Finkelhor, D., Vanderminden, J., Turner, H., Hamby, S., & Shattuck, A. (2014). Child maltreatment rates assessed in a national household survey of caregivers and youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 38(9), 1421–1435. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.05.005.
Freisthler, B., Merritt, D. H., & LaScala, E. A. (2006). Understanding the ecology of child maltreatment: A review of the literature and directions for future research. Child Maltreatment, 11(3), 263–280. doi:10.1177/1077559506289524.
Garbarino, J. (1977). The human ecology of child maltreatment: A conceptual model for research. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 39(4), 721–735. doi:10.2307/350477.
Gartner, R. (1990). The victims of homicide: A temporal and cross-national comparison. American Sociological Review, 55(1), 92–106. doi:10.2307/2095705.
Gartner, R. (1991). Family structure, welfare, spending, and child homicide in developed democracies. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53(1), 231–240. doi:10.2307/353147.
Gelles, R. J. (1991). Physical violence, child abuse, and child homicide: A continuum of violence, or distinct behaviors? Human Nature, 2(1), 59–72. doi:10.1007/BF02692181.
Gordon, R. A., Usdansky, M. L., Wang, X., & Guzman, A. (2011). Child care and mothers’ mental health: Is high-quality care associated with fewer depressive symptoms? Family Relations, 60(4), 446–460. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2011.00657.x.
Heaton, T. B. (2015). Are improvements in child health due to increasing status of women in developing nations? Biodemography and Social Biology, 61(3), 252–265. doi:10.1080/19485565.2015.1047487.
Hunnicutt, G., & LaFree, G. (2008). Reassessing the structural covariates of cross-national infant homicide victimization. Homicide Studies, 12(1), 46–66. doi:10.1177/1088767907311245.
Klevens, J., Barnett, S. B. L., Florence, C., & Moore, D. (2015). Exploring policies for the reduction of child physical abuse and neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect, 40, 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2014.07.013.
Klevens, J., Luo, F., Xu, L., Peterson, C., & Latzman, N. E. (2016). Paid family leave's effect on hospital admissions for pediatric abusive head trauma. Injury Prevention, 22(6), 442–445. doi:10.1136/injuryprev-2015-041702.
Laird, S. E. (2016). ‘If parents are punished for asking their children to feed goats’: Supervisory neglect in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Social Work, 16(3), 303–321. doi:10.1177/1468017315572037.
Lansford, J. E., & Deater-Deckard, K. (2012). Childrearing discipline and violence in developing countries. Child Development, 83(1), 62–75. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01676.x.
Lansford, J. E., Deater-Deckard, K., Bornstein, M. H., Putnick, D. L., & Bradley, R. H. (2014). Attitudes justifying domestic violence predict endorsement of corporal punishment and physical and psychological aggression towards children: A study in 25 low- and middle-income countries. Journal of Pediatrics, 164(5), 1208–1213. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.11.060.
Moniruzzaman, S., & Andersson, R. (2008). Cross-national injury mortality differentials by income level: The possible role of age and ageing. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 122(11), 1167–1176. doi:10.1080/14034940510006021.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2016). Social institutions and gender index (SIGI) [data set]. Retrieved from: http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=GID2.
Putnam, S., & Galea, S. (2008). Epidemiology and the macrosocial determinants of health. Journal Public Health Policy, 29(3), 275–289. doi:10.1057/jphp.2008.15.
Runyan, D., Wattam, C., Ikeda, R., Hassan, F., & Ramiro, L. (2002). Child abuse and neglect bny parents and other caregivers. In E. Krug, L. L. Dahlberg, J. A. Mercy, A. B. Zwi, & R. Lozano (Eds.), World report on violence and health (pp. 59–86). Geneva: World Health Organization.
Stith, S. M., Liu, T., Davies, C., Boykin, E. L., Alder, M. C., Harris, J. M., ... &, Dees, J. E. (2009). Risk factors in child maltreatment: A meta-analytic review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14(1), 13–29. doi:10.1016/j.avb.2006.03.0.
Stoltenborgh, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., IJzendoorn, M. H., & Alink, L. R. (2013a). Cultural–geographical differences in the occurrence of child physical abuse? A meta-analysis of global prevalence. International Journal of Psychology, 48(2), 81–94. doi:10.1080/00207594.2012.697165.
Stoltenborgh, M., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., & van IJzendoorn, M. H. (2013b). The neglect of child neglect: A meta-analytic review of the prevalence of neglect. Social Psychiatry Psychiatric Epidemiology, 48(3), 345–355. doi:10.1007/s00127-012-0549-y.
UNICEF. (2008). The state of the world’s children 2007: Women and children: The double dividend of gender equality. New York, NY: United Nations Children's Fund Retrieved from: http://www.unicef.org/sowc07/.
UNICEF (2015). Multiple indicator cluster surveys. New York: United Nations Children's Fund. Retrieved from: http://mics.unicef.org/surveys.
United Nations Development Program. (2015a). Human development report statistical annex, table 2. Human development index trends. New York, NY: United Nations Retrieved from: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr_2015_statistical_annex.
United Nations Development Program (2015b). Gender inequality index [data set]. \ Retrieved from: http://hdr.undp.org/en/composite/GII.
USAID. Demographic and Health Surveys Program (2016). Demographic and health surveys. Rockville: USAID, The DHS Program. Retrieved from: http://www.dhsprogram.com/.
Viola, T. W., Salum, G. A., Kluwe-Schiavon, B., Sanvicente-Vieira, B., Levandowski, M. L., & Grassi-Oliveira, R. (2016). The influence of geographical and economic factors in estimates of childhood abuse and neglect using the childhood trauma questionnaire: A worldwide meta-regression analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 51(1), 1–11.
WHO (2016a). Child Maltreatment Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs150/en/.
WHO (2016b). INSPIRE: Seven strategies for ending violence against children. Geneva: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/inspire/en/.
World Economic Forum (2014). Global Gender Gap Report, 2014: Gender Gap Index [data set]. Retrieved from: http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2014/wp-content/blogs.dir/60/mp/files/pages/files/gggr-2014-table-b1.pdf.
Acknowledgements
We thank Ivan Ludlow, Chelsea Austin, and Jacqueline Hurd for their work in identifying data sources.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
JK conceptualized the study, collaborated in data collection, conducted the statistical analyses, had full access to all the data in the study, and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. KP contributed to the design of the study, collaborated in data collection, and helped interpret the data. JK and KP contributed to the drafting and revising of the manuscript and approved the final manuscript as submitted.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Disclaimer
The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Funding
No external funding.
Ethical Approval
Secondary data analyses; IRB approval not required.
Declarations
We declare no competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Klevens, J., Ports, K.A. Gender Inequity Associated with Increased Child Physical Abuse and Neglect: a Cross-Country Analysis of Population-Based Surveys and Country-Level Statistics. J Fam Viol 32, 799–806 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-017-9925-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-017-9925-4