title: Family abduction in a national sample of US children.
abstract: This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of family abduction episodes occurring in a nationally representative sample of US children ages 0-17. It drew on the experiences of 13,052 children and youth from the aggregation of three cross-sectional waves (2008, 2011, and 2014) of the National Surveys of Children Exposed to Violence. The overall prevalence rate was 4.1% for a lifetime and 1.2% for a past year episode. Rates were higher for younger than older children. Parents constituted 90% of the abductors with females outnumbering males 60% to 40%, although men outnumbered women as perpetrators for certain types of abductions. A bit less than half of the episodes (43%) were reported to police. The experience of a lifetime family abduction had an independent association with traumatic stress symptoms independent of exposure to other kinds of victimization including child maltreatment and witnessing family violence.
authors.affiliation: Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States. Electronic address: david.finkelhor@unh.edu.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Finkelhor
authors.affiliation: Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henly
authors.affiliation: Crimes against Children Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Sewanee the University of the South, Sewanee, TN, United States.
authors.forename: Sherry
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hamby
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003415:Crime / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000069581:Exposure to Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D015995:Prevalence; D014481:United States
keywords: Child abuse; Child maltreatment; Custody disputes; Missing children