Child abuse is doing something or failing to do something that results in harm to a child or puts a child at risk of harm. Child abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional. Neglect, or not providing for a child's needs, is also a form of abuse.
Most abused children suffer greater emotional than physical damage. An abused child may become depressed. He or she may withdraw, think of suicide or become violent. An older child may use drugs or alcohol, try to run away or abuse others.
Child abuse is a serious problem. If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the police or your local child welfare agency.
-
Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect: Signs and Symptoms(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/sp_signs.cfm
- Child Abuse(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.aap.org/publiced/BK0_ChildAbuse.htm
- Asthma Rates High among Abused Children(09/03/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_68839.html
- Study Links Spanking to Physical Abuse(08/27/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_68619.html
-
Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect: Signs and Symptoms(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/signs.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/sp_signs.cfm
- Collaborating with Your Community(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/developing/community.cfm
-
Safe Children and Healthy Families Are a Shared Responsibility(Children's Bureau) - Large PDF file - http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/pdfs/prev_packet_2006_en.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/pdfs/prev_packet_2006_sp.pdf
-
You Have the Power to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/prevenres/tips.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/prevenres/usted.cfm
- Responding to a Disclosure of Child Abuse(National Network for Child Care) - Links to PDF - http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/cy/2001/fs0160.pdf
- Acts of Omission: An Overview of Child Neglect(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/focus/acts/
- Emotional Abuse(American Academy of Pediatrics) - http://www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm?article_ID=ZZZW84HP8FC&sub_cat=355
- Munchausen by Proxy Syndrome(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/munchausen.html
-
Shaken Baby Syndrome
(National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary - http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/shakenbaby/shakenbaby.htm
- Shaken Baby/Shaken Impact Syndrome(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/shaken.html
-
Understanding Child Traumatic Stress(National Child Traumatic Stress Network) - http://www.nctsn.org/nccts/nav.do?pid=ctr_aud_prnt_under
Also available in Spanish http://www.nctsn.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/edu_materials/Entendamoselestrtraumtico.pdf
- Child Abuse: How Does It Cause Borderline Personality Disorder?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/borderline-personality-disorder/AN01093/METHOD=print
- Children at Clandestine Methamphetamine Labs: Helping Meth's Youngest Victims(Dept. of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime) - Links to PDF - http://www.ojp.gov/ovc/publications/bulletins/children/197590.pdf
- Misconceptions of Reporting Child Abuse(Childhelp) - http://www.childhelp.org/resources/learning-center/following-simple-rules/misconceptions
- Questions and Answers about Memories of Childhood Abuse(American Psychological Association) - http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/mem.html
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Child Abuse(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Child+Abuse%22
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Spouse Abuse(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Spouse+Abuse%22
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Shaken Baby Syndrome(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Shaken+Baby+Syndrome%22
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Violence(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Violence%22
- Adverse Childhood Experiences Study(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ace/
-
Long-Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/long_term_consequences.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/sp_long_term_consequences.cfm
- Risk and Prevention of Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/prevenres/focus/
- Substance Abuse and Child Maltreatment(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/subabuse_childmal.cfm
- Understanding the Effects of Maltreatment on Early Brain Development(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/focus/earlybrain/earlybraina.cfm
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Understanding the behavioral and emotional consequences of child abuse. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18762538&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Incidence of fractures attributable to abuse in young hospitalized children:... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18762531&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Clinicians' description of factors influencing their reporting of suspected child... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18676541&tool=MedlinePlus
- Child Abuse -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=child+abuse[majr]+NOT+child+abuse,sexual[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System Glossary(Family and Youth Services Bureau) - http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/systems/ncands/ncands98/glossary/glossary.htm
- Adult Survivors of Child Abuse: Contact Information for Related Organizations(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/rl_dsp.cfm?subjID=41&rate_chno=11-11136
- Child Abuse Reporting Numbers: Contact Information for Related Organizations(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/rl_dsp.cfm?rs_id=5&rate_chno=11-11172
- Childhelp: Programs by State(Childhelp) - http://www.childhelp.org/about/programs-and-services/programs-by-state
- Get Help Now: National Child Abuse Hotline(Childhelp) - http://www.childhelp.org/get_help
-
Toll-Free Crisis Hotline Numbers: Contact Information for Related Organizations(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/tollfree.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/reslist/sp_tollfree.cfm
- Administration for Children and Families - http://www.acf.hhs.gov/
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - http://www.aacap.org/
- American Academy of Pediatrics - http://www.aap.org/
- National Runaway Switchboard - http://www.1800runaway.org/
- About the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA)(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/about.cfm
- Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/define.cfm
- Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/groundtermin.cfm
-
How Does the Child Welfare System Work?(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/cpswork.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/spcpswork.cfm
- Infant Safe Haven Laws(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/safehaven.cfm
- Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/manda.cfm
- Parental Drug Use as Child Abuse(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/statutes/drugexposed.cfm
- State Statutes Search(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/laws_policies/state/
-
What Is Child Abuse and Neglect?(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/whatiscan.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/ques.cfm
- Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities: Statistics and Interventions(Children's Bureau) - http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/fatality.cfm
- Child Maltreatment(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/CM_Data_Sheet.pdf
- National Child Abuse Statistics(Childhelp) - http://www.childhelp.org/resources/learning-center/statistics
- National Runaway Switchboard Call Statistics(National Runaway Switchboard) - http://www.1800runaway.org/news_events/call_stats.html
- Childhelp: For Kids(Childhelp) - http://www.childhelp.org/resources/learning-center/for-kids
- Going to a Psychologist, Psychiatrist, or Therapist(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/emotion/going_to_therapist.html
- How to Handle Abuse(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/emotion/handle_abuse.html
- Youths and Teens Page (National Runaway Switchboard)(National Runaway Switchboard) - http://www.1800runaway.org/youth_teens/youth_teens.html
-
Abuse(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/families/family_abuse.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/mente/abuse_esp.html
- Going to a Therapist(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/therapist.html
-
Helping Yourself Heal: A Recovering Man's Guide to Coping with the Effects of Childhood Abuse(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) - Links to PDF - http://www.kap.samhsa.gov/products/brochures/pdfs/HelpingHeal-Mens.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.kap.samhsa.gov/products/brochures/pdfs/HelpingHeal-Mens-spanish.pdf
-
Helping Yourself Heal: A Recovering Woman's Guide to Coping with Childhood Abuse Issues(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) - Links to PDF - http://www.kap.samhsa.gov/products/brochures/pdfs/HelpingHeal-Womens.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.kap.samhsa.gov/mli/docs/spanish/HelpingHealWomens-Spanish.pdf
- Child Sexual Abuse - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childsexualabuse.html
- Children and Teenagers - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childrenandteenagers.html
- Injuries and Wounds - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/injuriesandwounds.html
- Social/Family Issues - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/socialfamilyissues.html
Child Abuse - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/childabuse.html