1 in 8 American Children Maltreated Before Age 18, Yale Study Claims

Nearly 12 percent of American children experience maltreatment before the age of 18, a new study reveals.

Researchers at Yale University found that one in every eight children in the U.S. have suffered maltreatment before the age of 18 in the form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect.  The rate of maltreatment is much higher for black and Native American children as 1 in 5 black children and 1 in 7 Native American children suffer maltreatment before they turn 18.

"Confirmed child maltreatment is dramatically underestimated in this country. Our findings show that it is far more prevalent than the 1 in 100 that is currently reported," said first author Christopher Wildeman, associate professor of sociology and faculty fellow at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale.

Using the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Child File, the researchers estimated the cumulative prevalence of confirmed child maltreatment by age 18. This data included all the information on all the U.S. children who confirmed a report of maltreatment. On analyzing the data between 2004 and 2011, it was seen that over 5.6 million children suffered maltreatment in that time period.

"Maltreatment is on the scale of other major public health concerns that affect child health and well-being," he said. "Because child maltreatment is also a risk factor for poor mental and physical health outcomes throughout life, the results of this study provide valuable epidemiologic information."

Maltreatment is one of the serious issues that has lasting harmful effects on the victims. Researchers at King's College London found that children who have experienced maltreatment were 36 percent more likely to be obese in adulthood. Maltreated children were 20-50 percent at a higher risk of having poor outcomes in adolescences. One of the reasons for the rising rate of maltreatment is unemployment, as revealed in 2010 at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference.

According to the centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the total lifetime cost of child maltreatment is $124 billion each year.

The finding was reported in JAMA Pediatrics.