Citation

Koc F, Oral R, Butteris R. Int. J. Psychiatry Med. 2014; 47(2): 131-139.

Affiliation

St. Luke's Hospital Child Protection Center, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.2190/PM.47.2.d

PMID

25084799

Abstract

Child abuse and neglect is a public health problem and usually associated with family dysfunction due to multiple psychosocial, individual, and environmental factors. The diagnosis of child abuse may be difficult and require a high index of suspicion on the part of the practitioners encountering the child and the family. System-related factors may also enable abuse or prevent the early recognition of abuse. Child abuse and neglect that goes undiagnosed may give rise to chronic abuse and increased morbidity-mortality. In this report, we present two siblings who missed early diagnosis and we emphasize the importance of systems issues to allow early recognition of child abuse and neglect.

Language: en