Why Are Children Safer?: An Empirical Assessment of the Post-1990 Decline in Rates of Child Maltreatment

• In Event: Patterns and Trends in Victimization Risk

Abstract

Rates of child victimization, including substantiated child abuse and neglect, have been steadily declining in the U.S. since the early 1990s. Over the same period, significant improvements have also been made across a variety of other child welfare indicators, such as the percentage of teen pregnancy, teen suicide, and children living in poverty. Even though previous research has established this decline using both official and survey data, and some scholars have speculated as to why rates of child abuse and neglect declined, few empirical studies have attempted to explain why this decline occurred. Using state-level cross-sectional/time series data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), this study examines the national decline in child maltreatment at the state level and empirically tests various hypotheses that have been offered by scholars in an attempt to understand why rates of child maltreatment declined from 1990-2013.

Author

• Maribeth L. Rezey, University of Missouri - St. Louis