Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Disparities in Substantiated Child Maltreatment: A State-Level Analysis of U.S. Incidence...

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Child Welfare Studies
• Public Health

Background:

• Child maltreatment is a significant public health issue requiring detailed epidemiologic analysis.
• Existing data often lack nuanced breakdowns by race, ethnicity, and gender, obscuring specific disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate state-level child maltreatment (physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect) substantiation rates.
• To examine disparities in these rates across racial, ethnic, and gender groups compared to White or non-Latine children.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 3,972,565 child maltreatment cases from the 2018 U.S. National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System.
• Calculation of disparity ratios and differential representation values by race, ethnicity, and gender.
• Comparison of substantiation rates between specific racial/ethnic groups and White or non-Latine children within the same gender category.

Main Results:

• Black and multiracial children had higher substantiated physical abuse rates than White children.
• Neglect substantiation rates were generally lower for Black girls and boys.
• Sexual abuse substantiation rates were lower for Black girls; Latine girls showed higher rates, while Latine boys showed lower rates for physical abuse.

Conclusions:

• Race, ethnicity, and gender are critical factors in child abuse and neglect case dispositions.
• Consistent state-level disparities in substantiation rates highlight the need for targeted policy interventions.
• Further research and successful strategies are needed to prevent disparities in child maltreatment case processing.