A recent report by the group Prevent Child Abuse in America says there were more than 1 million confirmed cases of child abuse in the United States in 1999.
"Because abuse remains abhorrent to the public's conscience and often difficult to substantiate, we suspect these statistics are understated," says UAB professor of education Renitta Goldman, Ph.D. "Among the many variables that contribute to abuse, the one likely continuing predictor of abuse remains its intergenerational nature. This is where a victim in childhood becomes part of an abusive relationship in adulthood."
Goldman says that recent studies indicate children who may not be victims but who witness abuse also are harmed. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Contact Gail Short, Media Relations, 205-934-8931 or [email protected].
RSS