https://doi.org/10.65770/LWEL5374
ABSTRACT
Child abuse and neglect are widespread public health and social problems with consequences that extend across the life course. This narrative review synthesizes peer-reviewed evidence on the factors that increase the risk of child maltreatment, the main types of maltreatment and their prevalence, the consequences for victims, and the protective and preventive factors that reduce harm. Maltreatment is best explained by an ecological model in which individual, family, community, and societal factors interact. Parental anger and stress, parental substance misuse, family conflict and intimate partner violence, economic insecurity, social isolation, and norms that accept physical punishment are consistently linked to higher risk. Global meta-analyses show that maltreatment is common, with self-report studies yielding prevalence estimates far higher than official records. Maltreatment is associated with mental disorder, substance use, suicidal behaviour, chronic disease, altered brain development, and disorganized attachment, and these outcomes accumulate with the number of adverse experiences. Evidence supports home visiting and parent training as preventive approaches, though much of it comes from high-income countries. Prevention needs multi-level strategies that reduce risk, build protective factors, and are tested in low- and middle-income settings.
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