A study of age-related variables among physically abused children

One of every five substantiated cases of child abuse and over 50 percent of child-abuse-related deaths are the result of physical injury. The charts of 266 children, newborn to seventeen years of age, seen at Texas Children's Hospital during a two-year period were reviewed. Each child was assigned to one of four age-groups. Approximately 90 percent of all cases involved children five years old or younger, with 60 percent being less than two years of age. The results suggest that age is an important factor in the location, type, and severity of injuries due to the physical abuse of a child.