Child Maltreatment· 2026Q1
Childhood Physical Abuse Perpetrators: Australian National Survey Data on Prevalence and Perpetrator Types
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Physical abuse in childhood is overwhelmingly familial, most commonly starting before age 10, especially when both parents are perpetrators.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Physical abuse in childhood is overwhelmingly familial, occurring within family settings.
- Abuse most commonly begins before 10 years of age, especially when both parents are perpetrators.
- Younger cohorts show lower prevalence, suggesting a potential generational decrease.
- Findings underscore the importance of family environments and the need for home-based interventions.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
= 2,623 experiencing childhood physical abuse), we estimated prevalence by perpetrator type and examined age of onset, cessation and duration. The overwhelming majority of physical abuse occurred within family settings. Lower prevalence estimates among younger cohorts suggest physical abuse may be becoming less common in more recent generations. Physical abuse most commonly began before 10 years of age, particularly when both parents were identified as perpetrators. These findings show that a substantial proportion of physical abuse occurs during children's formative years when they are unlikely to have networks outside of their family to turn to. The predominance of familial perpetration highlights the central role of family environments in the occurrence of physical abuse and the critical need for policies and programs that can target physical abuse within the home.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Child Maltreatment, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Clinical Psychology
Clinical PsychologyPsychology