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Citation |
Reijneveld SA, van der Wal MF, Brugman E, Sing RA, Verloove-Vanhorick SP. Lancet 2004; 364(9442): 1340-1342. |
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Affiliation |
Department of Health Sciences, Groningen University, PO Box 196, 9700 AD Groningen, Netherlands. s.a.reijneveld@med.rug.nl |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2004, Elsevier Publishing) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
15474137 |
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Abstract |
Child abuse and neglect are important causes of child morbidity and death. We assessed potentially detrimental parental actions induced by infant crying in 3259 infants aged 1-6 months, in the Netherlands. In infants aged 6 months, 5.6% (95% CI 4.2-7.0) of parents reported having smothered, slapped, or shaken their baby at least once because of its crying. The risks of detrimental actions were highest for parents from non-industrialised countries, those with either no job or a job with short working hours, and those who judged their infant's crying to be excessive. Clinicians should be aware of the risks of abuse in children known to cry a lot and should target interventions at parents to help them cope with this crying. |