Home      Login

Child Maltreatment Fatalities—What Do We Know, What Have We Done, and Where Do We Go From Here?  

Author:  Emily M. Douglas, Ph.D..

Source: Volume 01, Number 02, Fall 2008 , pp.151-169(19)

Family & Intimate Partner Violence Quarterly

next article > |return to table of contents


Why does child maltreatment sometimes become deadly? Does fatal child abuse differ from the non-lethal variety or is it simply a matter of degree? Is fatal abuse or fatal neglect more likely to occur? And what are the most common characteristics of victims and perpetrators? The author of this article seeks to tackle these difficult questions and more. She specifically identifies which children are most vulnerable, what type of parent is most likely to perpetrate, and what are the psychosocial risk factors that can lead to fatal abuse. She also describes the various types of professional responses that prevent fatal abuse, or effectively investigate and prosecute it once it occurs.


Affiliations:  1: Department of Social Work, Bridgewater State College.

Subscribers click here to open full text in PDF.
Non-subscribers click here to purchase this article. $15

next article > |return to table of contents