A Prevalence-Based Approach to Societal Costs Occurring in Consequence of Child Abuse and Neglect

Abstract

Background: Traumatization in childhood can result in lifelong health impairment and may have a negative impact on other areas of life such as education, social contacts and employment as well. Despite the frequent occurrence of traumatization, which is reflected in a 14.5 percent prevalence rate of severe child abuse and neglect, the economic burden of the consequences is hardly known. The objective of this prevalence-based cost-of-illness study is to show how impairment of the individual is reflected in economic trauma follow-up costs borne by society as a whole in Germany and to compare the results with other countries' costs. Methods: From a societal perspective trauma follow-up costs were estimated using a bottom-up approach. The literature-based prevalence rate includes emotional, physical and sexual abuse as well as physical and emotional neglect in Germany. Costs are derived from individual case scenarios of child endangerment presented in a German cost-benefit-analysis. A comparison with trauma follow-up costs in Australia, Canada and the USA is based on purchasing power parity. Results: The annual trauma follow-up costs total to a margin of EUR 11.1 billion for the lower bound and to EUR 29.8 billion for the upper bound. This equals EUR 134.84 and EUR 363.58, respectively, per capita for the German population. These results conform to the ones obtained from cost studies conducted in Australia (lower bound) and Canada (upper bound), whereas the result for the United States is much lower.

Child maltreatment is mediating long-term consequences of household dysfunction in a population representative sample

“…Child maltreatment may lead to psychosocial and economic impairment, massive mental and somatic health problems and a significant reduction in quality of life [5]. Next to the individual level, child maltreatment results in enormous economic costs with annual expenses between 11 and 30 billion Euro in Germany alone [6]. Experiences of ACEs related to household dysfunction result in developmental and cognitive impairment [7, 8], higher risks for mental disorders [9–12] and social problems [13].…”

The Prevalence of Sexual Abuse in Institutions: Results From a Representative Population-Based Sample in Germany

“…Beyond the individual consequences, there is a high economic burden for society. A range of studies have addressed this topic, and a study from Germany reported an estimate between 11.1 and 29.8 billion euro per year (Habetha, Bleich, Weidenhammer, & Fegert, 2012), while a study for the United States reported estimates of US$56 billion per year (Fang, Brown, Florence, & Mercy, 2012; Habetha, Bleich, Weidenhammer, & Fegert, 2012). The financial impact of the problem underscores the need to better understand its extent and to develop effective security measures that are specifically designed for institutional contexts.…”

Für ein neues Verhältnis von Wissenschaft, Praxis und Betroffenen

“…Die gesamte Gesellschaft muss sich in Anbetracht des Ausmaßes der Gewalt und ihrer finanziellen Folgen (vgl. Habetha et al 2012) die Frage stellen, wie dieser Gewalt zu begegnen ist. Es gibt deshalb ein klares gesellschaftliches Interesse, mehr über sexualisierte Gewalt zu erfahren und damit die Notwendigkeit eines Aushandelns der verschiedenen Interessen von Gesellschaft, Betroffenen und Unterstützer_innen.…”