Children Self Reporting Abuse and Neglect in the U.S.: A Multi-year Analysis

Child maltreatment represents a critical risk factor in the well-being of children around the world. There are a wide range of adverse outcomes associated with child maltreatment, both short and long term. Negative outcomes related to the child's physical and mental health as well as potential future psychiatric and criminal problems have been found. In the U.S. child protective services (CPS) are agencies whose sole mission is to both protect children and identify and hold accountable those who maltreat them. Each year, millions of reports of maltreatment are made to CPS. A fraction of these reports are made by the alleged victims of child maltreatment. The purpose of the current study was to describe reports made by the alleged victim of child maltreatment and to compare these reports to reports made by other adult reporters. More girls than boys made selfreports of alleged maltreatment to CPS. The average age of the self-reporter was older than the children involved in reports made by adult reporters. More African American and fewer White and Hispanic children selfreported alleged maltreatment compared to the other adult reporter groups. More self-reporters had a prior history of maltreatment compared to the other two adult reporter groups. Once CPS began the investigation, it took on average one day longer to make a finding for self-reports compared to reports made by mandated reporters. Results are discussed in terms of specific factors associated with self-reporters, public policy as well as cultural, racial and ethnic influences on the reporting of child maltreatment.