ABSTRACT
Child abuse can present as physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. There are special forms of abuse, such as Munchausen syndrome by proxy and fetal abuse (Finkelhor 1994). Because so much abuse remains undisclosed, researchers usually use retrospective information from adults to make inferences about the incidence and prevalence of abuse. Authors agree that adult reports are probably underestimates due to a number of methodological problems. Adding confusion to the literature is the fact that the definition of abuse can vary among papers and that in certain cases the report of abuse may be fabricated due to ulterior motives or may later be found unsubstantiated.
