Samenhang tussen sociaal demografische kenmerken van peuters en de signalering van kindermishandeling

Abstract

Child abuse remains a public health and social welfare problem. In the Netherlands prevalence rates are around 118.000 children every year. The present study examines the correlation between toddlers’ social demographic features and the observation of child abuse with use of the Observation Tool for Child Safety (2.5-6 years, Dutch version). The social demographic features include gender, age, ethnicity, neighbourhood factors and social economic status (SES). There are 269 participating toddlers in this sample, which are randomly selected by the employees of early education centers. The results demonstrate that the risk for child abuse is higher for younger male toddlers. A higher risk is also found for a low SES, a low social cohesion, a high unsafeness and a low amount of social security in the neighbourhood. No relation was found between ethnicity and the observation of child abuse. Future research with larger sample sizes are suggested.