TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Who's watching the children? Caregiver features associated with physical child abuse versus accidental injury
JO  - Journal of pediatrics
A1  - Fingarson, Amanda K.
A1  - Pierce, Mary Clyde
A1  - Lorenz, Douglas J.
A1  - Kaczor, Kim
A1  - Bennett, Berkeley
A1  - Berger, Rachel
A1  - Currie, Melissa
A1  - Herr, Sandy
A1  - Hickey, Sheila
A1  - Magana, Julia
A1  - Makoroff, Kathi
A1  - Williams, Marcia
A1  - Young, Audrey
A1  - Zuckerbraun, Noel
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To compare caregiver features and caregiving arrangements of children with physical abuse vs accidental injuries. STUDY DESIGN: Data came from a prospective, observational, multicenter study investigating bruising and psychosocial characteristics of children younger than 4 years of age. Using logistic regression, we examined how abuse vs accidental injury and severity of injury were associated with caregiver sex, relation to the child, whether caregiving arrangements were different than usual at the time of injury, and length of the main caregiver's relationship with his/her partner. <br><br>RESULTS: Of 1615 patients, 24% were determined to have been physically abused. Abuse was more likely when a male caregiver was present (OR 3.31, 95% CI 2.38-4.62). When the male was the boyfriend of the mother (or another female caregiver), the odds of abuse were very high (OR 169.2, 95% CI 61.3-614.0). Severe or fatal injuries also were more likely when a male caregiver was present. In contrast, abuse was substantially less likely when a female caregiver was present (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.17-0.37) with the exception of a female babysitter (OR 3.87, 95% CI 2.15-7.01). Caregiving arrangements that were different than usual and caregiver relationships <1 year were also associated with an increased risk of abuse. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: We identified caregiver features associated with physical abuse. In clinical practice, questions regarding caregiver features may improve recognition of the abused child. This information may also inform future abuse prevention strategies.<br><br>Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0022-3476
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.05.040
ID  - ref1
ER  -