Awareness of child abuse, neglect and efforts to address them have expanded in the past 20 years, while there was a substantial decline in rates of reported physical and sexual abuse, according to a study released Thursday.
The research by the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine, a non-profit adviser to the federal government looked at trends in child abuse reported that psychological and emotional abuse have risen and rates of child neglect showed no decline, accounting for 75 percent of all cases.
In a 1993 NAS report, "we talked about (child abuse) as a devastating social problem. In this report we conclude from looking at both the long-term consequences and the impact to society and families that it's a public health problem, as well," says Anne Petersen, chairwoman of the committee that wrote the report.
Studies documenting the financial burden of child abuse put the cumulative cost to society at $80.3 billion annually, says Petersen, research professor at the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
"That was one of the most powerful conclusions that came through the research in the last 20 years. It's well established that the effects are cumulative, long-lasting and come at great cost to individuals and society," she says.
Data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) indicate that more than 3 million referrals for child abuse and neglect are received by child protective services each year involving around 6 million children. But most of these reports "were not possible to corroborate with the usual rigorous process required by most states," says the report.
