title: One hundred and eighty-seven cases of child abuse and neglect.
abstract: The case histories of 187 abused and neglected children, admitted to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children over a three-year-period, were reviewed. Multiproblem families from the lower socioeconomic groups predominated, reflecting the hospital's geographic catchment area. Eight children died and 30 were made state wards. A high proportion of mothers described problems during the pregnancy, a difficult delivery and neonatal problems. The majority of parents in this study were married and had small families. First-born male infants of young isolated mothers were found to be at greatest risk of child abuse and neglect.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents; D010359:Patient Readmission; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D012961:Sociology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality