The DOI matches its Crossref record; 60 of the 62 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The economic burden of child maltreatment in the United States and implications for prevention
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVES: To present new estimates of the average lifetime costs per child maltreatment victim and aggregate lifetime costs for all new child maltreatment cases incurred in 2008 using an incidence-based approach. METHODS: This study used the best available secondary data to develop cost per case estimates. For each cost category, the paper used attributable costs whenever possible. For those categories that attributable cost data were not available, costs were estimated as the product of incremental effect of child maltreatment on a specific outcome multiplied by the estimated cost associated with that outcome. The estimate of the aggregate lifetime cost of child maltreatment in 2008 was obtained by multiplying per-victim lifetime cost estimates by the estimated cases of new child maltreatment in 2008. RESULTS: The estimated average lifetime cost per victim of nonfatal child maltreatment is $210,012 in 2010 dollars, including $32,648 in childhood health care costs; $10,530 in adult medical costs; $144,360 in productivity losses; $7,728 in child welfare costs; $6,747 in criminal justice costs; and $7,999 in special education costs. The estimated average lifetime cost per death is $1,272,900, including $14,100 in medical costs and $1,258,800 in productivity losses. The total lifetime economic burden resulting from new cases of fatal and nonfatal child maltreatment in the United States in 2008 is approximately $124 billion. In sensitivity analysis, the total burden is estimated to be as large as $585 billion. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with other health problems, the burden of child maltreatment is substantial, indicating the importance of prevention efforts to address the high prevalence of child maltreatment.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“These consequences are far-reaching into families and communities, with significant costs for institutions in terms of primary and rehabilitative health care, education and welfare assistance, child protection, and justice system costs (Fang 2012).”
From School-based education programmes for the prevention of child sexual abuse (2015) · cites this paper as Fang 2012
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00017-8 · Cited by 18,943
Child abuse: Adolescent records vs. adult recall
Femina, D. D., Yeager, C. A., & Lewis, D. O. (1990) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/0145-2134(90)90033-p · Cited by 8,820
Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine
(1996) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780195108248.001.0001 · Cited by 7,193
Risky families: Family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring
Repetti, R. L., Taylor, S. E., & Seeman, T. E. (2002) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.2.330 · Cited by 2,884
Impact of child sexual abuse: A review of the research.
Browne, A., & Finkelhor, D. (1986) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.99.1.66 · Cited by 2,622
Violence, Abuse, and Crime Exposure in a National Sample of Children and Youth
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H. A., Ormrod, R. K., & Hamby, S. L. (2009) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2009-0467 · Cited by 1,105
Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4): Report to Congress
Sedlak, A. J. (2010) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · Cited by 960
Hussey, J. M., Chang, J. J., & Kotch, J. B. (2006) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2005-2452 · Cited by 935
Population-Based Prevention of Child Maltreatment: The U.S. Triple P System Population Trial
Prinz, R. J., Sanders, M. R., Shapiro, C. J., Whitaker, D. J., & Lutzker, J. R. (2009) · Prevention Science · doi:10.1007/s11121-009-0123-3 · Cited by 833
Lifetime Cost of Stroke in the United States
Taylor, T. N., Davis, P. H., Torner, J. C., Holmes, J. S., Meyer, J. W., & Jacobson, M. F. (1996) · Stroke · doi:10.1161/01.str.27.9.1459 · Cited by 806 · cited 1×
“For example , the discounted lifetime costs ( discounted at a 5% rate ) of stroke per person were estimated at $ 159 , 846 ( 2010 dollars ) ( Taylor et al .”
Long-Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect on Adult Economic Well-Being
Currie, J., & Widom, C. S. (2010) · Child Maltreatment · doi:10.1177/1077559509355316 · Cited by 776 · cited 3×
“, Currie & Widom , 2010 ; Widom & Maxfield , 2001 ) , whereas others used CPS inves - tigations ( e . g .”
Interventions to prevent child maltreatment and associated impairment
MacMillan, H. L., Wathen, C. N., Barlow, J., Fergusson, D. M., Leventhal, J. M., & Taussig, H. N. (2009) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(08)61708-0 · Cited by 654 · cited 1×
“Included among effective programs are Nurse - Family Partnership , Early Start , and Triple P System ( Macmillan et al .”
Child Maltreatment Surveillance: Uniform Definitions for Public Health and Recommended Data Elements
Leeb, R. T., Paulozzi, L. J., Melanson, C., Simon, T. R., & Arias, I. (2008) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e587022010-001 · Cited by 641
Prevention effectiveness : a guide to decision analysis and economic evaluation
Haddix, A. C. (1996) · Cited by 574
Sedlak, A. J., Mettenburg, J., Basena, M., Petta, I., McPherson, K. S., Greene, A., & Li, S. (2010) · PsycEXTRA Dataset · doi:10.1037/e565022012-001 · Cited by 514 · cited 2×
“According to NIS-4, the most recent NIS data available, an estimated 1,256,600 children experienced maltreatment using the “Harm Standard,” and an estimated 2,905,800 children experienced maltreatment using the broader “Endangerment Standard” during the 2005–2006 study year (Sedlak et al., 2010).”
Manly, J. T., Cicchetti, D., & Barnett, D. (1994) · Development and Psychopathology · doi:10.1017/s0954579400005915 · Cited by 470
Costs of Health Care Use by Women HMO Members With a History of Childhood Abuse and Neglect
Walker, E. A., Unützer, J., Rutter, C. M., Gelfand, A. N., Saunders, K. W., VonKorff, M., Koss, M. P., & Katon, W. J. (1999) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.56.7.609 · Cited by 457
Moeller, T. P., Bachmann, G. A., & Moeller, J. R. (1993) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/0145-2134(93)90084-i · Cited by 445
Defining maltreatment according to substantiation: distinction without a difference?
Hussey, J. M., Marshall, J. M., English, D. J., Knight, E. D., Lau, A. S., Dubowitz, H., & Kotch, J. B. (2005) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.12.005 · Cited by 442 · cited 1×
“, 2011 ; Hussey et al .”
The Lifetime Cost of Current Human Immunodeficiency Virus Care in the United States
Schackman, B. R., Gebo, K. A., Walensky, R. P., Losina, E., Muccio, T. M., Sax, P. E., Weinstein, M. C., Seage, G. R., Moore, R. D., & Freedberg, K. A. (2006) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/01.mlr.0000228021.89490.2a · Cited by 409
Health-Related Quality of Life Among Adults Who Experienced Maltreatment During Childhood
Corso, P. S., Edwards, V. J., Fang, X., & Mercy, J. A. (2008) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2007.119826 · Cited by 394
Self-citationPrevention effectiveness: A guide to decision analysis and economic evaluation
Roelofs, C. R. (1997) · American Journal of Industrial Medicine · doi:10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199701)31:1 · Cited by 393
Time to Leave Substantiation Behind
Kohl, P. L., Jonson‐Reid, M., & Drake, B. (2008) · Child Maltreatment · doi:10.1177/1077559508326030 · Cited by 386
CORSO, P., Mercy, J. A., SIMON, T., Finkelstein, E. A., & Miller, T. R. (2007) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2007.02.010 · Cited by 359 · cited 1×
“Research has suggested that CM may be associated with reduced life expectancy, decreased quality of life, and negative parenting behaviors, which can lead to negative intergenerational outcomes, including conduct, peer, and emotional problems (Brown et al., 2011; Corso & Fertig, 2010; Corso et al., 2007; Roberts, O’Co…”
Self-citationAge 21 Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Title I Chicago Child-Parent Centers
Reynolds, A. J., Temple, J. A., Robertson, D. L., & Mann, E. A. (2002) · Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis · doi:10.3102/01623737024004267 · Cited by 348 · cited 4×
“Special education costs Jonson-Reid et al. (2004) Reynolds et al. (2002) $7,999 $6,443 Total $210,012 $97,952 Table 2 The average lifetime cost per case of fatal child maltreatment.”
InfluentialRoberts, R., O’Connor, T., Dunn, J., & Golding, J. (2004) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.07.006 · Cited by 328
Child Maltreatment, Youth Violence, and Intimate Partner Violence
Fang, X., & Corso, P. S. (2007) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2007.06.003 · Cited by 253
Self-citationTotal Estimated Cost of Child Abuse and Neglect in the United States
Wang, C.-T., & Holton, J. K. (2007) · Issue Lab (Candid) · Cited by 199
Drake, B. (1996) · Child Maltreatment · doi:10.1177/1077559596001003008 · Cited by 197
Jonson‐Reid, M., Drake, B., Kim, J., Porterfield, S. L., & Han, L. (2004) · Child Maltreatment · doi:10.1177/1077559504269192 · Cited by 196 · cited 1×
“Special education costs Jonson-Reid et al. (2004) Reynolds et al. (2002) $7,999 $6,443 Total $210,012 $97,952 Table 2 The average lifetime cost per case of fatal child maltreatment.”
The future of child protection: how to break the cycle of abuse and neglect
(1999) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.36-4215 · Cited by 173
The Lifetime Medical Cost Burden of Overweight and Obesity: Implications for Obesity Prevention
Finkelstein, E. A., Trogdon, J. G., Brown, D. S., Allaire, B. T., Dellea, P. S., & Kamal‐Bahl, S. J. (2008) · Obesity · doi:10.1038/oby.2008.290 · Cited by 171
Self-citationConfronting Child Abuse: Research for Effective Program Design.
Knudsen, D. D., & Daro, D. A. (1989) · Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews · doi:10.2307/2073353 · Cited by 166
Trauma-focused CBT for youth who experience ongoing traumas
Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Murray, L. K. (2011) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.05.002 · Cited by 165
Health Care Utilization and Costs Associated with Childhood Abuse
Bonomi, A. E., Anderson, M. L., Rivara, F. P., Cannon, E. A., Fishman, P. A., Carrell, D., Reid, R. J., & Thompson, R. S. (2008) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/s11606-008-0516-1 · Cited by 163 · cited 5×
“, Bonomi et al .”
InfluentialSubstantiated and unsubstantiated cases of child maltreatment: Do their consequences differ?
Leiter, J., MYERS, K. A., & Zingraff, M. T. (1994) · Social Work Research · doi:10.1093/swr/18.2.67 · Cited by 158
Report of Maltreatment as a Risk Factor for Injury Death
Putnam‐Hornstein, E. (2011) · Child Maltreatment · doi:10.1177/1077559511411179 · Cited by 149 · cited 1×
“, 2005; Kohl, Jonson-Reid, & Drake, 2009; Leiter, Myers, & Zingraff, 1994) have shown that risk of maltreatment, which we capture more broadly through investigations, is strongly associated with adverse CM-related outcomes, including risk of CM fatalities (Putnam-Hornstein, 2011).”
Sequelae of abuseHealth effects of childhood sexual abuse, domestic battering, and rape
Bohn, D. K., & HOLZ, K. (1996) · Journal of Nurse-Midwifery · doi:10.1016/s0091-2182(96)80012-7 · Cited by 143 · cited 1×
“A literature review indicates that childhood sexual abuse can be associated with a myriad of serious reproductive and sexual health problems including unplanned or adolescent pregnancies , infertility , menstrual problems , and painful intercourse ( Bohn & Holz , 1996 ) .”
Factors that mediate between child sexual abuse and adult psychological outcome
Romans, S. E., Martin, J. L., Anderson, J. C., O'Shea, M. L., & Mullen, P. E. (1995) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291700028154 · Cited by 137
Hulme, P. A. (2000) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/s0145-2134(00)00200-3 · Cited by 128 · cited 1×
“A few sources of data exist for adult estimates of the long-term medical costs of CM (Bonomi et al., 2008; Hulme, 2000; Walker et al., 1999).”
Methodological issues in child sexual abuse research
Haugaard, J. J., & Emery, R. E. (1989) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/0145-2134(89)90032-x · Cited by 117 · cited 1×
“Although researchers have argued that CPS data underestimate the total incidence of CM (Haugaard & Emery, 1989; Hussey, Chang, & Kotch, 2006; Swahn et al., 2006; Waldfogel, 1998), to be conservative, this study uses the CPS estimate of 579,000 new cases as the baseline for our estimation of the…”
Valuing health for regulatory cost‐effectiveness analysis
Salkeld, G. P. (2007) · Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1111/j.1753-6405.2007.00021.x · Cited by 104
Health Care Costs Associated With Child Maltreatment: Impact on Medicaid
Florence, C., Brown, D. S., Fang, X., & Thompson, H. F. (2013) · PEDIATRICS · doi:10.1542/peds.2012-2212 · Cited by 104
Self-citationThe costs of a public health infrastructure for delivering parenting and family support
Foster, E. M., Prinz, R. J., Sanders, M. R., & Shapiro, C. J. (2007) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2007.11.002 · Cited by 103
Swahn, M. H., Whitaker, D. J., Pippen, C. B., Leeb, R. T., Teplin, L. A., Abram, K. M., & McClelland, G. M. (2006) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2004.058230 · Cited by 88 · cited 1×
“Although researchers have argued that CPS data underestimate the total incidence of CM (Haugaard & Emery, 1989; Hussey, Chang, & Kotch, 2006; Swahn et al., 2006; Waldfogel, 1998), to be conservative, this study uses the CPS estimate of 579,000 new cases as the baseline for our estimation of the…”
The impact of adverse patient occurrences on hospital costs in the pediatric intensive care unit
Dominguez, T. E., Chalom, R., & Costarino, A. T. (2001) · Critical Care Medicine · doi:10.1097/00003246-200101000-00033 · Cited by 77
An Update on the "Cycle of Violence." Research in Brief.
Widom, C. S., & Maxfield, M. G. (2001) · Cited by 75
The economic impact of child maltreatment in the United States: Are the estimates credible?
Corso, P. S., & Fertig, A. R. (2010) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2009.09.014 · Cited by 71 · cited 2×
“, 2011 ; Corso & Fertig , 2010 ; Corso et al .”
Medical Costs Attributable to Child Maltreatment
Brown, D. S., Fang, X., & Florence, C. (2011) · American Journal of Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2011.08.013 · Cited by 69 · cited 1×
“Based on a review (Brown et al., 2011), we determined that Bonomi et al.'s (2008) estimates were most suitable for this study.”
Self-citationThe costs of cancer to a major employer in the United States: a case-control analysis.
Barnett, A. I., Birnbaum, H. G., Crémieux, P., Fendrick, A. M., & Slavin, M. A. (2000) · PubMed · Cited by 60
Fallon, B., Trocmé, N., MacLaurin, B. J., Sinha, V., & Black, T. L. (2011) · International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction · doi:10.1007/s11469-011-9351-4 · Cited by 49
Toth, S. L., & Manly, J. T. (2011) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2011.05.003 · Cited by 48 · cited 1×
“…, an ongoing commitment to implementation science will be needed to ensure that the full programs—upon which the positive results rest—are imparted with fidelity and include ongoing monitoring and supervision , and sustained resourcing ( Cohen , Mannarino , & Murray , 2011 ; Toth & Manly , 2011 ) .”
Lifetime medical costs for women: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stress urinary incontinence
Birnbaum, H. G., Leong, S. A., & Kabra, A. (2003) · Women s Health Issues · doi:10.1016/j.whi.2003.07.001 · Cited by 46
Brief Communication: Physical Abuse of Boys and Possible Associations with Poor Adult Outcomes
Holmes, W. C., & Sammel, M. D. (2005) · Annals of Internal Medicine · doi:10.7326/0003-4819-143-8-200510180-00008 · Cited by 35
Confronting child abuse: Research for effective program design
Brown, L. K. (1989) · Child Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1016/0145-2134(89)90018-5 · Cited by 31
Susac's syndrome: improvement with combined antiplatelet and calcium antagonist therapy.
Wildemann, B., Schülin, C., Storch-Hagenlocher, B., Hacke, W., Dithmar, S., Kirchhof, K., Jansen, O., & Breitbart, A. (1996) · PubMed · Cited by 30
Measuring Costs of Child Abuse and Neglect: A Mathematic Model of Specific Cost Estimations
Conrad, C. (2006) · Journal of Health and Human Services Administration · doi:10.1177/107937390602900102 · Cited by 22
Medical Costs and Productivity Losses Due to Interpersonal and Self-directed Violence in the US
Corso, P. S., Mercy, J. A., Simon, T., Miller, T. R., & Finkelstein, E. A. (2007) · Cited by 17
Self-citationThe Severity and Cost of Child Abuse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Dominguez, T. E., Chalom, R., & Costarino, A. T. (2001) · Journal of Intensive Care Medicine · doi:10.1046/j.1525-1489.2001.00035.x · Cited by 12
The Severity and Cost of Child Abuse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Dominguez, T. E., Chalom, R., & Costarino, A. T. (2001) · Journal of Intensive Care Medicine · doi:10.1177/088506660101600104 · Cited by 10
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 62 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- DeVooght, 2008, Federal, state, and local spending to address child abuse and neglect in SFY 2006, Casey Family Programs
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Violence, Crime, and Abuse Exposure in a National Sample of Children and Youth
David Finkelhor, B., Turner, H. A., Shattuck, A., & Hamby, S. L. (2013) · Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2013.42 · Cited by 781
“Specifically, weights were applied to adjust for (1) differing probabilities of household selection based on sampling frames, (2) variations in withinhousehold selection resulting from different numbers of eligible children across households, and (3) differences in sample proportions according to sex, age, income, cen…”
BackgroundMethodAdverse childhood experiences and life opportunities: shifting the narrative
Metzler, M., Merrick, M. T., Klevens, J., Ports, K. A., & Ford, D. C. (2017) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.10.021 · Cited by 713
Cicchetti, D. (2013) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2012.02608.x · Cited by 653
Lifetime Prevalence of Investigating Child Maltreatment Among US Children
Kim, H., Wildeman, C., Jonson-Reid, M., & Drake, B. (2017) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2016.303545 · Cited by 640
The Prevalence of Confirmed Maltreatment Among US Children, 2004 to 2011
Wildeman, C., Emanuel, N., Leventhal, J. M., Putnam‐Hornstein, E., Waldfogel, J., & Lee, H. E. (2014) · Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine · doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.410 · Cited by 505
Metadata
- Authors
- Fang, X., Brown, D. S., Florence, C. S., & Mercy, J. A.
- Affiliations
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
- RTI International (US)
- Corresponding author
- Fang, Xiangming
- Venue
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-02
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 156-165
- ISSN
- 0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3776454
- OpenAlex
- W2167783241
- Cited by
- 1,122
- References
- 62
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 47 · 2023: 65 · 2022: 95 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 111 · 2019: 91 · 2018: 111 · 2017: 112 · 2016: 101 · 2015: 100 · 2014: 69 · 2013: 52 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 86.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (200-2008-M-28149)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Child Welfare and Adoption
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Child Abuse and Related Trauma
- Keywords
- child abuse, economic burden, lifetime costs, child abuse prevention, productivity loss, criminal justice costs, special education costs, cost estimation
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Child, Child Abuse, Child, Preschool, Costs and Cost Analysis, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Middle Aged, United States, Health Care Costs, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
