Epidemiologic differences between sexual and physical child abuse
J. Jason, S. L. Williams, A. Burton and R. Rochat
Sexual and physical child abuse are assumed to differ; however, these
differences have not been well characterized epidemiologically.
Furthermore, despite assumed differences, these types of abuse are often
analyzed as one entity. This can have significant effects on assessment of
risk and recommendations for intervention. We compared 735 cases of sexual
abuse and 3,486 cases of nonsexual physical abuse confirmed by the Georgia
Department of Protective Services. Sexual and physical child abuse cases
differed in age, sex, and relationship of perpetrators and victims;
demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of families at risk; and
morbidity and mortality caused by the event. The most important
recommendation based on these findings is that epidemiologically distinct
forms of child abuse must be analyzed separately before intervention
measures are proposed.
