Determining prevalence of maltreatment among children in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to find out the overall prevalence rates for the major forms of abuse among adolescents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the differences in prevalence by age, gender and living arrangement. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted in secondary high schools in five of the 13 main regions of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during 2012. Through a multistage stratified sampling technique, a sample (n = 16 939) of adolescents (15-19 years) were identified and invited to participate. The ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool - Child was used for data collection. The previous year's occurrence of violence exposure, psychological, physical and sexual abuse, and neglect were assessed. RESULTS: Nearly 90% of the adolescents were between 16 and 18 years of age, and over 80% were cared for by both of their biological parents. Annual prevalence of various forms of abuse in the year before the 2012 assessment ranged between 0.10 and 0.65, with the lowest rate for sexual abuse and the highest for psychological abuse. Significantly, greater rates of all forms of abuse/exposure were found when participants lived with their mother or father only (versus with both), and even greater rates for all when they lived with their biological parent and a step-parent. Rates for violence exposure, psychological abuse and neglect were significantly greater for girls, and rate of sexual abuse was greater for boys. CONCLUSIONS: More attention should be given to the effect of adolescent maltreatment particularly among girls. In addition, sexual abuse prevention programme should be targeted among boys.

Child maltreatment surveillance: enumeration, monitoring, evaluation and insight.

Application of epidemiologic surveillance to child abuse and neglect (CAN) presents specific challenges related to varying definitions and incident reporting. Definitions of abuse and neglect differ within and across countries, obscuring estimates of the true magnitude of the problem. Definitions also vary depending on the nature of the child protection system. Countries may lack legal or social systems with specific responsibility for responding to and recording reports of CAN, particularly countries where populations are remote or in flux (e.g. due to conflict). Underreporting of CAN results in underestimates of prevalence. Violence by caregivers toward children is often known only to the perpetrator, and depending on the developmental capacity of the child, the victim. Further, CAN cases may be reported to a wide variety of sentinels (e.g. educators, clergy, physicians, law enforcement, child welfare), or may not be reported to any official source at all. Social stigma and unintended consequences of reporting, as well as cultural and political barriers, also impact reporting both within communities and globally.

TITRE: Commentaire - Surveillance de la maltraitance des enfants : recension, suivi, évaluation et aperçu. RÉSUMÉ: Exercer une surveillance épidémiologique sur la violence et la négligence envers les enfants présente des difficultés spécifiques liées à la variabilité des définitions et des modalités dans le rapport des cas. Les définitions de la violence et de la négligence diffèrent entre les pays et en leur sein, empêchant une estimation exacte de l'ampleur du problème. Les définitions varient également en fonction de la nature du système de protection des enfants. Certains pays ne disposent pas de système judiciaire ou social doté de responsabilités précises pour réagir aux cas de violence et de négligence envers les enfants et en consigner les rapports, ce qui est en particulier le cas des pays où certaines populations sont isolées ou en migration (p. ex. en raison de conflits). La sous-déclaration des cas de violence et de négligence envers les enfants entraîne des sous-estimations de la prévalence. Les sévices subis par les enfants ne sont souvent connus que de l'agresseur et, selon le niveau de développement de l'enfant, de sa victime. De plus, les cas de violence et de négligence envers les enfants sont susceptibles d'être signalés à divers intervenants (éducateurs, clergé, médecins, services de police, aide sociale à l'enfance) comme ils peuvent ne l'être à aucune source officielle. La stigmatisation sociale et les conséquences non prévisibles des signalements, tout comme les barrières culturelles et politiques, ont aussi des répercussions sur le signalement, tant au sein d'une collectivité qu'à l'échelle planétaire.

Safety, permanency, and in-home services: applying administrative data.

This article describes the construction and use of safety and permanency indicators, two aspects of a full set of indicators that also includes child well-being and family functioning. The indicators were constructed from Philadelphia's Family and Child Tracking System and were used to examine the city's Services to Children in their Own Home (SCOH) program. Cohort datasets were constructed through the use of extract files, and two independent data file construction algorithms were employed to calibrate the accuracy of the data construction process. The primary unit of analysis was the "family" spell in SCOH services. Contextual variables included family structure, race, and service intensity. The indicators associated with SCOH spells included reports of maltreatment after service, founded maltreatment after service, and out-of-home placement after service. Event history techniques were used to conduct the data analysis. Baseline indicator data for Philadelphia are presented, and future uses for such data are discussed.

Recurrence of maltreatment: an application of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS).

OBJECTIVE: The research describes and compares patterns of maltreatment recurrence across multiple states using large samples, confirms the patterns of recurrence found in the literature, and explores unreported patterns of recurrence. METHOD: A recurrence data set for calendar years 1994 and 1995 was constructed from the multi-state case level data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. These data were available for 10 states and included a range from 2,419 to 99,288 substantiated or indicated report-child pairs per state. A common set of data constructs lent consistency to data construction and analysis, while preserving differences in policy. Event History Analysis (survival) techniques were used. RESULTS: Single site studies were confirmed across the 10 states. These include the pattern where neglect is most likely to recur, followed by physical abuse and then sexual abuse. Similarly, younger children are more likely to recur. A finding of the analysis is that the likelihood of recurrence increases in a systematic and consistent fashion based upon the sequential ordering of recurrent maltreatment events. Also, the likelihood of recurrence is associated with the provision of postinvestigative services. CONCLUSION: Highly consistent patterns of recurrence were observed across states. Children experiencing multiple recurrences compared to no recurrence or one recurrence may represent a special at risk population requiring additional research. Adequate baselines and an understanding of recurrence is needed when considering recurrence as an outcome indicator or in developing risk assessment tools. Important recurrence patterns may be difficult to detect reliably with relatively small samples.