Finkelhor, David

Wright, Lori

English

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University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryMedia Relations Administrative Offices10-7-2009New Study Finds High Rates Of ChildhoodExposure To Violence And Abuse In U.S.Lori WrightUNH Media RelationsDavid FinkelhorUNH Crimes against Children Research CenterFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/newsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationWright, Lori and Finkelhor, David, "New Study Finds High Rates Of Childhood Exposure To Violence And Abuse In U.S." (2009).UNH Today. 218.https://scholars.unh.edu/news/218New Study Finds High Rates of Childhood Exposure to Violence and Abuse in U.S.http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2009/oct/em07abuse.cfm.html[8/24/2016 2:14:57 PM]David Finkelhor, the studydirector, is director of the UNHCrimes against ChildrenResearch Center. New Study Finds High Rates Of Childhood Exposure ToViolence And Abuse In U.S.Media Contact:  Lori Wright 603-862-0574UNH Media Relations David Finkelhor 603-862-2761 (office) / 603-767-1010 (cell)UNH Crimes against Children Research CenterOct. 7, 2009DURHAM, N.H. –A new study from the University of New Hampshirefinds that U.S. children are routinely exposed to even more violenceand abuse than has been previously recognized, with nearly halfexperiencing a physical assault in the study year.“Children experience far more violence, abuse and crime than doadults,” said David Finkelhor, director of the UNH Crimes againstChildren Research Center and the study director. “If life were thisdangerous for ordinary grown-ups, we’d never tolerate it.”The research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice(DOJ), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention(OJJDP) and supported by the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention (CDC). The research results are presented in the journalPediatrics and an Office of Justice Programs/OJJDP bulletin titled“Children’s Exposure to Violence: A Comprehensive NationalSurvey.”UNH researchers asked a national sample of U.S. children and theircaregivers about a far broader range of exposures than has beendone in the past.According to the research, three out of five children were exposed to violence, abuse or acriminal victimization in the last year, including 46 percent who had been physically assaulted,10 percent who had been maltreated by a caregiver, 6 percent who had been sexuallyvictimized, and 10 percent who had witnessed an assault within their family.The authors contend that earlier studies of violence exposure only inquired about individualcrimes – looking only at bullying or child maltreatment or sexual abuse. In contrast, this studyasked about all such exposures as well as additional ones that are rarely, if ever, coveredsuch as dating violence and witnessing domestic violence.The study found that more than a third of the children had had two or more different kinds ofexposures in the past year and 11 percent had five or more.New Study Finds High Rates of Childhood Exposure to Violence and Abuse in U.S.http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2009/oct/em07abuse.cfm.html[8/24/2016 2:14:57 PM]“Studies have missed the fact that there are a surprisingly large group of very repeatedly andvariously victimized kids whom we should be doing a better job to help and protect,” Finkelhorsaid.The researchers urge teachers, police, doctors, counselors, and parents to ask children abouta broader range of possible victimization experiences, especially children who had beenidentified as victims already. They also call for new efforts to create safer schools, homes andother youth environments.The study was conducted in 2008 and involved interviews with caregivers and youth about theexperiences of a nationally representative sample of 4,549 children ages 0-17. In addition toFinkelhor, the authors include Heather Turner, professor of sociology at UNH, Richard Ormrod,research professor of geography at UNH, and Sherry Hamby, research associate professor ofpsychology at Sewanee, the University of the South.The UNH Crimes against Children Research Center (CCRC) works to combat crimes againstchildren by providing high-quality research and statistics to the public, policy makers, lawenforcement personnel, and other child welfare practitioners. CCRC is concerned with researchabout the nature of crimes including child abduction, homicide, rape, assault, and physicaland sexual abuse as well as their impact. Visit the center online athttp://www.unh.edu/ccrc/index.html.The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research universitywith the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university,UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling more than 12,200 undergraduate and2,200 graduate students.Copies of Pediatrics ArticleCopies of the Pediatrics journal article are available from the American Academy of Pediatrics.Please contact Debbie Linchesky at the American Academy of Pediatrics atdlinchesky@aap.org or 847-434-7084.Copies of DOJ BulletinThe Department of Justice bulletin about the research is available at www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov.Photohttp://www.unh.edu/news/img/finkelhor.jpgDavid Finkelhor, the study director, is director of the UNH Crimes against Children ResearchCenter.-30- 

New Study Finds High Rates Of Childhood Exposure To Violence And Abuse In U.S.

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New Study Finds High Rates Of Childhood Exposure To Violence And Abuse In U.S.

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