Child abuse in Malmö. A comparison between the periods 1967--1974 and 1975--1978

In 1976 a survey was made of all children with a diagnosis of suspected or verified child abuse registered at the Department of Paediatrics in Malmö from 1967 through 1974. Some of the results have been compared with more recent data collected during the years 1975 through 1978. Registered incidents of child abuse were found to have increased markedly during the later period, to a great extent due to the increased number of older children being registered in 1975--1978. A steep increase in cases was observed in 1976 coinciding with intensified efforts to inform and educate personnel responsible for the care or welfare of children. The larger number of incidents registered during the later period is thus considered to most likely have been caused by greater vigilance on the part of personnel responsible for children and not due to an increase in the real incidence of child abuse. A comparison between the two periods regarding the type of injuries recorded shows a five-fold increase in the yearly rate of less severe lesions, as contrasted with a two-fold increase in more severe lesions. During both periods, slight injuries represented a majority of all cases.