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

3.1.2 Incidence of Harm Standard Abuse and NeglectIn addition to the overall estimates of incidence and rates, Table 3–1 providesestimates for the two main categories of maltreatment: abuse and neglect. Each of theseis, in turn, divided into more specific categories.The NIS only counts abused children under the Harm Standard if theyexperienced the abuse at the hands of their parent (birth or adoptive), parent-substitute(e.g., foster parent, step-parent), or an adult caretaker; the NIS counts neglected childrenonly when they experienced the neglect at the hands of their parent or parent-substitute.Also, as detailed further below, the Harm Standard generally includes children in theabuse total if they were moderately harmed by abuse, whereas it generally includes onlychildren who were seriously harmed in the neglect estimates.As Table 3–1 shows, an estimated 553,300 children experienced HarmStandard abuse during the 2005–2006 study year, while an estimated 771,700 childrensuffered Harm Standard neglect during the same period. These totals represent incidencerates of 7.5 abused children per 1,000 and of 10.5 neglected children per 1,000 in theUnited States population. Thus, the majority of Harm Standard children (61%) wereneglected, and slightly less than one-half (44%) were abused. Note that the estimatednumbers of children in the “all abuse” and “all neglect” rows sum to more than the totalnumber of maltreated children in the first row. This is because children who were bothabused and neglected (an estimated 68,400 children, or 0.9 per 1,000) are included inboth estimates.Changes since the NIS–3 in the incidence of Harm Standard abuse andneglect. In comparison to the NIS–3 estimates, the NIS–4 decrease in Harm Standardabuse is statistically significant. There was a 26% decrease in the total number of abusedchildren since the NIS–3. Alternatively, considering the changes in incidence rates inorder to take into account the increase in child population size since that earlier study,there was a 32% decrease in the abuse rate since the NIS–3, indicating that children had anearly one-third lower risk of being abused under the Harm Standard in the 2005–2006study year compared to their risk in 1993.The NIS–4 decrease in the rate of Harm Standard neglect since the NIS–3,although it may appear substantial, was not statistically significant.3–5