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

eview of the NIS definitions. 6 This led to refinements of the maltreatment typology,subdividing earlier forms of maltreatment that were too heterogeneous, clarifying therange of acts or omissions included in a given maltreatment form, and enhancing thecoding guidelines to avoid confusion. Table 2–1 presents the resulting 60-formmaltreatment typology that evaluative coders applied in the NIS–4.Definitional standards. Evaluative coders judge the details of each case ofsuspected maltreatment against the required elements (countability criteria) defined intwo definitional standards, the Harm Standard and the Endangerment Standard. TheHarm Standard has been used since the NIS–1 and is the more stringent. For children tobe countable under the Harm Standard, for the most part, they have to have experiencedobservable harm from their maltreatment. The Endangerment Standard has been in usesince the NIS–2. It is more lenient, counting children in the study estimates if the source(CPS or sentinel) considered the perpetrator’s actions or omissions to have placed thechild at serious risk of harm. The Endangerment Standard includes all Harm Standardcountable children, but adds in other children as well.The NIS definitional standards specify all the elements that must be met forthe child to be countable. These include:1. Child’s Age: The NIS includes children whose maltreatment occursafter their birth and before their 18 th birthday. 72. Custody Status: The NIS includes only abuse and neglect of childrenliving in household settings (dependents of parent(s) or parentsubstitute(s) at the time of maltreatment). 86 This review, undertaken during the NIS–4 Planning Project, explored whether, since the originalformulation of NIS definitions, increasing variation in CPS practices reduced the relevance of the NISdefinitions or categories, or emphasized new distinctions not captured in the NIS definitions. Reviewersexamined the NIS classification system against current state definitions of child abuse and neglect (ascodified in the state statutes that mandate reporting) and against the carefully elaborated definitions usedin five recent studies of child abuse and neglect (Sedlak, Mettenburg, Schultz & Cook, 2003). Theyidentified gaps in the NIS specifications, categorical refinements, and additional criteria or boundaryconditions to clarify the situations NIS includes as abuse or neglect.7 The NIS classifies acts or omissions that occur during pregnancy as not countable.8 The NIS excludes institutional abuse and neglect.2–11