title: Physical maltreatment of children with autism in Henan province in China: A cross-sectional study.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of child physical maltreatment (CPM) in children with autism aged 2-5 years in Henan province (China), and to explore the risk factors for severe CPM in these children. This cross-sectional study was performed at the Psychology Clinic of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between September 2012 and September 2013 with 180 parents of children with autism. Children and parents had no history of any cognitive therapy. The childhood autism rating scale (CARS) was used to evaluate the severity of autism in children. Data on parental CPM during the past 3 months were collected from parental self-reporting. Logistic regression was used to investigate the risk factors of severe CPM. CPM was self-reported by 88% of the parents of children with autism. One hundred and fifty four of these cases were in the minor CPM group (86%) and 64 in the severe CPM group (36%). Most cases of severe CPM were unlikely to have caused injury. Univariate analyses showed that child's age (p=.018), age started to speak (p=.043) and CARS score (p=.048) were associated with severe CPM. Child's age (p=.011) and CARS score (p=.041) were independently associated with severe CPM. The risk of severe CPM increased with age and CARS score. Our findings showed that CPM is widespread in families of children with autism in Central China and more knowledge should be provided to parents of children with autism, particularly in cases of severe autism (those with high CARS scores).
authors.affiliation: Center of Children Psychology and Behavior, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China. Electronic address: hydgq@sina.com.
authors.forename: Guiqin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jingqi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Beijing Academy of Education Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center of Children Psychology and Behavior, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Buyi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yanqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yazhe
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Meiling
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D000066550:Physical Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Autism; Child physical maltreatment; China; Family environment; Risk factors