Prevalence of Intrafamilial Child Maltreatment in the Nordic countries: A Review

Abstract

There are differences in the prevalence rates of child maltreatment between countries, as well as variation in how these rates change over time. This review examined the prevalence of different forms of intrafamilial child maltreatment in the Nordic countries and possible changes in the prevalence rates over the past two decades. We conducted a systematic search of the databases PsycInfo, ISI Web of Science and PubMed and of self-report studies investigating the prevalence of one or several forms of child maltreatment in non-clinical samples published from 1990 to the present. In addition, we searched for unpublished reports. A total of 24 Nordic studies were included. The findings suggest a prevalence of child sexual abuse by a parent in the range of 0.2-1.2 per cent, a prevalence of severe physical abuse in the range of three to nine per cent and a prevalence of witnessing domestic violence in the range of seven to 12, 5 per cent in the Nordic countries. Markedly more girls than boys were exposed to sexual abuse. The results indicate a decline in the prevalence of sexual abuse by a relative and of parental physical abuse over the past 20 years, but no corresponding changes in the prevalence of witnessing domestic violence. There is a lack of studies on the prevalence of neglect and emotional maltreatment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEY PRACTITIONER MESSAGES:• Knowledge of intrafamilial child abuse and witnessing domestic violence in the Nordic countries is expanded.• Prevalence studies not published in the international scientific literature are included. Time trends in prevalence rates are shown.• Differences between Nordic prevalence rates and the rates found in high-income countries as a whole are explored and discussed.• Attention is drawn to the influence of contextual factors on the prevalence of child maltreatment.

The burden of child maltreatment in the East Asia and Pacific region

“…Previous research has shown that the rates of child maltreatment vary considerably across countries (Gilbert et al, 2012; Kloppen, Mæhle, Kvello, Haugland, & Breivik, 2014). Country-level prevalence data is preferential to estimating the burden of child maltreatment, however, a considerable number of countries in the EAP region have little to no data on child maltreatment.…”

Experience with suspecting child maltreatment in the Norwegian public dental health services, a national survey

“…[1][2][3] According to previous studies, the prevalence of children who experience one or several forms of maltreatment, defined as physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and emotional and physical neglect, is between 10 and 36%. [1,[3][4][5][6] Child maltreatment often causes injuries to the head, face, mouth and neck with different frequencies, ranging from 23% for neglect to 75% for physical abuse cases. [7][8][9][10] Child maltreatment is associated with poor selfperceived oral health, and maltreated children have a higher incidence of untreated tooth decay, poorer oral hygiene, worse oral health and more missed health care appointments than the general population.…”

The Challenge and Complexities of Physical Abuse

“…Self‐reported prevalence varied by geographical region and between countries. Another paper in this issue looks at the prevalence of maltreatment in Nordic countries, systematically searching the published literature from 1990 (Kloppen et al ., ). They found self‐reported prevalence rates of severe physical violence of between three and nine per cent, and mild physical violence of between 13 and 72 per cent.…”

“…Of 551 prevalence rates reported in the literature reviewed by Stoltenborgh et al (), only 46 were for emotional abuse, 17 for emotional neglect and 15 for physical neglect. Similarly, in the Nordic review, only one of 24 papers reported on the prevalence of neglect and emotional maltreatment (Kloppen et al ., ). This is despite the fact that estimates of emotional abuse prevalence are generally of an order of magnitude higher than those of sexual or physical abuse.…”