By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Researchers are reporting an increase in child abuse, mostly in infants, during the recession, which raises new concerns about the impact the nation’s struggling economy is having on the population.
The Associated Press (AP) is reporting that the study involved more than 400 abused children, mostly from lower income families spread across 74 counties in four states and found an increase in the number of abusive head trauma.
Lead author Dr. Rachel Berger of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh said the results confirm anecdotal reports from many pediatricians who have been seeing an increased number of shaken baby cases and other forms of brain-injuring abuse.
The researchers examined medical records and national labor statistics for 2004 through November 2007 and compared them with data from the recession. Of the 422 children diagnosed with abusive head trauma during the study, roughly 65 cases occurred each year before the recession, versus about 108 yearly during the recession. This represents a 65 percent increase in diagnosed cases, up sharply from nine cases per 100,000 before the recession to 15 per 100,000 during the recession years.
Of the 422 children studied, the majority suffered brain damage and 69 died.
Combine the stress of raising a young child with wage cuts or job loss and you get “a sort of toxic brew in terms of thinking about possible physical violence,” said Mark Rank, a social welfare professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He told the AP the study echoes sociological research linking violence with declines in economic well-being.
The study shows that “as poverty goes up and economic stagnation continues…there are really human costs involved,” Rank said.
Government data suggests that the recession is not affecting child abuse rates but their studies are based on reports from child protective services, not medical diagnoses, and do not address brain injuries specifically.
Dr. Peter Sherman, director of the residency program in social pediatrics at Montefiore Medical Center in New York said physicians can help prevent this kind of abuse by asking families if they’re having difficulties paying for food or shelter and referring those in need to social service agencies. Sometimes just asking parents about stresses in their lives and acknowledging their struggles can help, he said.
Most parents who abuse young children aren’t “ill-intentioned,” he said. “Most of it is kind of just snapping…maybe being sleep-deprived and just losing it. It’s something that can happen to anyone. Economics is just another stress” that can increase the risks, Sherman said.
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