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Report of Maltreatment as a Risk Factor for Injury Death: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study

NCJ Number
237464
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 16 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2011 Pages: 163-174
Author(s)
Emily Putnam-Hornstein
Date Published
August 2011
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article presents a study of early childhood injury mortality following a nonfatal allegation of maltreatment.
Abstract
This article presents a population-based study of early childhood injury mortality following a nonfatal allegation of maltreatment. Findings are based on a unique dataset constructed by establishing child-level linkages between vital birth records, administrative child protective services records, and vital death records. These linked data reflect over 4.3 million children born in California between 1999 and 2006 and provide a longitudinal record of maltreatment allegations and death. Of interest was whether children reported for nonfatal maltreatment subsequently faced a heightened risk of unintentional and intentional injury mortality during the first 5 years of life. Findings indicate that after adjusting for risk factors at birth, children with a prior allegation of maltreatment died from intentional injuries at a rate that was 5.9 times greater than unreported children (95 percent CI [4.39, 7.81]) and died from unintentional injuries at twice the rate of unreported children (95 percent CI [1.71, 2.36]). A prior allegation to CPS proved to be the strongest independent risk factor for injury mortality before the age of five. (Published Abstract)