Maltreatment of children born to teenage mothers: a comparison between the 1960s and 1980s.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether the rates or the reporting of maltreatment of children born to teenage mothers changed from the 1960s to the 1980s.

DESIGN

Comparison of two cohorts.

SETTING

Ambulatory services of Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Conn.

PATIENTS: Consecutive children born to black teenage mothers; the "early" cohort comprised 148 children born from September 1967 through June 1969, and the "late" cohort, 159 children born from October 1979 through December 1981.

OUTCOME MEASURES: Each injury for which the child was medically evaluated from birth to 5 years of age was categorized by predefined criteria as follows: maltreatment (abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse), household violence, unintentional injury-neglect, unintentional injury, or insufficient information.

RESULTS

The rates of maltreatment in the early cohort and in the late cohort were similar: 12.8% versus 10.7% (relative risk (RR) = 0.83; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.45, 1.54). The rates of unintentional injury also were similar: 52% in the early cohort versus 60% in the late cohort (RR = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.96, 1.43). In contrast, 30% of the episodes of maltreatment were reported to the state protective service agency in the early cohort versus 65% of episodes in the late cohort (RR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.08, 4.26).

CONCLUSION

Among children born to teenage, black, inner-city women, the rates of child maltreatment are similar from the late 1960s to the 1980s. The increased rates of reporting of maltreatment reflect increased rates of recognition by clinicians, rather than true increases in prevalence.