Prevalence of reported child abuse by parents in a pediatric out-patient population

• Published in: Cadernos de saúde pública Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 92 - 98
• Main Authors: Davoli, A, Palhares, F A, Corrêa-Filho, H R, Dias, A L, Antunes, A B, Serpa, J F, Schincariol, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Brazil 01-01-1994
• ISSN: 0102-311X

A cross-sectional study was carried out to estimate prevalence of child abuse with battering among patients under age 14 for alleged disciplinary purposes. The reference population were children attending pediatric out-patient services at the University Hospital in Campinas, State of São Paulo, Brazil, a city of one million inhabitants with universal coverage in terms of accessing health care in the unit under study. Interviews were carried out with 130 parents or guardians in a randomly selected group according to order of attendance, and the prevalence of child abuse was estimated at 10.8%, considering as positive cases those where parents referred child battering under age one year or where there was evidence of bodily lesion over age one year. A validation study for the experimental questionnaire is proposed in order to allow for future estimation of population prevalence or incidence. The use of qualitative methods is also recommended as a means of gathering detailed data on socio-psychological determination for the supposedly disciplinary aggression with child abuse.