Prevalence and characteristics of child physical abuse in Sweden - findings from a population-based youth survey.
OBJECTIVE
To examine prevalence rates of child physical abuse perpetrated by a parent/caretaker, abuse characteristics and the extent of disclosures.


METHODS
A population-based survey was carried out in 2008 amongst all the pupils in three different grades (n = 8494) in schools in Södermanland County, Sweden. The pupils were asked about their exposure to violence and their experiences of parental intimate-partner violence. Data were analysed with bi- and multivariate models and a comparison between means of accumulating risk factors between three groups were performed.


RESULTS
A total of 15.2% of the children reported that they had been hit. There were strong associations between abuse and risk factors and there was a dose-response relationship between risks and reported abuse. It was shown that children who reported parental intimate-partner violence were at a considerably higher risk for abuse than other children and that only 7% of the children exposed to violence had disclosed this to authorities.


CONCLUSIONS
Even though child abuse in Sweden has decreased markedly during the last 40 years, violence against children is still a considerable problem. It is a challenge to develop methods of assessment and interventions that will ensure that the violence and its underlying causes are directly addressed.
Annerbäck
E-M
EM
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. eva-maria.annerback@dll.se
Wingren
G
G
Svedin
C G
CG
Gustafsson
P A
PA
D000293:Adolescent; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D030881:Disclosure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology