Children living with a single parent who had a cohabiting partner in the household are at most risk of abuse and neglect, according to a new US government report [1].
According to the report, children whose single parent had a live-in partner had more than 8 times the rate of maltreatment overall, over 10 times the rate of abuse, and nearly 8 times the rate of neglect compared to those living with their married biological parents.
The study, entitled Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4), found that the overall level of child abuse and neglect had declined. It was carried out between 2005 and 2006.
However, the study said that, “in nearly all categories, the incidence of maltreatment and levels of harm increased since the NIS–3 for children living with one parent but decreased for those living with two parents”.
The largest rate increase for children with one parent was in Endangerment Standard neglect, (58 per cent higher in NIS–4 than in NIS–3), especially the specific category of emotional neglect (a 194 per cent increase).
The Endangerment Standard of neglect counts children who were not yet harmed by abuse or neglect if local authorities thought that the maltreatment endangered the children or if a child protection investigation substantiated or indicated their maltreatment.
The largest decrease for children living with two parents occurred in the rate of Harm Standard sexual abuse, which declined by 61 per cent from its level at the time of the NIS–3, a study which was conducted in 1996.
According to the report, the Harm Standard is a measure of abuse which “requires that an act or omission result in demonstrable harm in order to be classified as abuse or neglect. It permits exceptions in only a few specific maltreatment categories, where the nature of the maltreatment itself is so egregious that one can infer that the child was harmed”.
Children in non-marital families were at far higher risk of abuse, the study said. According to the report, children living with two married biological parents had the lowest rate of overall Harm Standard maltreatment, at 6.8 per 1,000 children.
Meanwhile, the rate of abuse or neglect for children living with other married parents was 24.4 children per 1,000, while the rate for those living with two unmarried parents was 23.5 children per 1,000).
For children living with a single parent with no partner in the household, the rate was 28.4 children per 1,000.
However, the highest risk of abuse was for children whose single parent has an unmarried partner . According to the the study, the risk of abuse for such children “was more than 2 times greater than the risk for children living in these other living arrangements”.
According to the study’s authors: “Children living with one parent who had an unmarried partner in the household had the highest incidence of Harm Standard maltreatment (57.2 per 1,000). Their rate is more than 8 times greater than the rate for children living with two married biological parents.”
This was even higher than the rate for children with a low socioeconomic status. For example, children with no parent in the labor force had 2 to 3 times the rate of maltreatment overall, about 2 times the rate of abuse, and 3 or more times the rate of neglect, compared to children whose parents were employed.
Children with unemployed parents had 2 to 3 times higher rates of neglect than those with employed parents.