The study uses cases of child maltreatment reported by community professionals in 29 counties throughout the United States. All cases used in the study met a set of standardized definitional criteria. The study finds that the most frequent type of abuse was physical, followed by emotional abuse and then by sexual abuse. In 1986 the countable cases of maltreatment increased by 66 percent over the 1980 incidence rate. In 1986 there was an increase of 74 percent over 1980 in abuse cases, with a rise in the incidence of physical and sexual abuse as well as moderate injury. Girls are more frequently abused than are boys, with serious and fatal injuries occurring among younger children. Children in families with four or more children showed higher rates of physical abuse and physical neglect. There were no significant relationships between the child's race or ethnicity and the incidence of maltreatment. However, children from families whose 1986 income was less than $15,000 experienced more maltreatment than did those whose 1986 income exceeded $15,000. The number of maltreated children reported to Child Protective Services in 1986 was one and two-thirds million, an increase of nearly 57 percent since 1980. The study observes that the 1986 increase in countable cases of child maltreatment does not suggest increased child abuse and neglect, but rather an improved reporting system and professionals better able to recognize maltreatment.