Child maltreatment exacts a huge toll on both individuals and society. In 2012 alone, an estimated 3.4 million allegations of child maltreatment involving approximately 6.3 million U.S. children were made. Annually, the total cost of the U.S. Child Welfare System exceeds $26 billion. At the individual level, child maltreatment victims are at disproportionately high risk for a range of adverse outcomes across the life span—including behavioral problems such as violence, criminality, and substance abuse and dependence; health-risking sexual behaviors such as Sexually Transmitted Infection/Human Immunodeficiency Virus risking behaviors and early sexual initiation; chronic mental and physical health conditions; poor academic achievement; and poor economic well-being.
Language: en
", language="en", issn="1054-139X", doi="10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.05.010", url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.05.010" }