McKenzie, K. and Scott, D.A. – 2012
Report of an Australian study of child maltreatment risk factors using injury-related pediatric hospitalization data. Medical records were examined for both unintentional injuries and maltreatment-related injuries. The most common risk factors for maltreatment injuries were a history of abuse, being known to child welfare, and child or family mental health history. Drug and alcohol use were also cited as significant maltreatment risk factors. The most common risk factor for unintentional injury was child or family alcohol abuse. A large majority of the maltreatment injury cases also had documented involvement with child welfare. A smaller percentage of the unintentional injury cases had child welfare involvement. Children under one year of age were found to be most vulnerable to maltreatment. Analysis of data also showed that children with maltreatment-related injuries commonly had two or more risk factors in their case histories. Authors note the importance of documentation in all child injury cases.