Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS–4)

two children, 1.7 times the rate for “only” children, and 1.6 times the rate for children inthree–child households. The difference in the incidence rates for children in two-childversus three-child households is statistically marginal.Figure 5–20.Incidence of Endangerment Standard Overall Maltreatment, Abuse, andNeglect by Family Size.Abuse. Children in families with four or more children had a higher rate ofEndangerment Standard abuse compared to those in families with two children. Theincidence rate for children in families with four or more children is 1.5 times the rate forchildren in families with two children (13.9 versus 9.4 children per 1,000). Thisdifference is statistically marginal.Neglect. In contrast to the small and statistically marginal family-sizedifferences in rates of Endangerment Standard abuse, the differences in neglect rates aresubstantial and significant. Children in families with four or more children had anincidence rate of 52.2 per 1,000 children, which is significantly higher than the rate ofneglect found among children in all smaller families. Children in the largest familieshave an incidence rate of neglect that is almost 2.7 times the lowest rate of neglect, anestimated 19.6 children in two-child families. The difference in rates of Endangerment5–48