Frequency of Child Maltreatment in a Representative Sample of the German Population

Child maltreatment refers to all forms of abusive and neglectful behavior involving emotional, physical and sexual transgressions, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival or development [1,2]. Although child maltreatment is one of the most important social challenges worldwide and is associated with substantial impairments of social wellbeing and health [3-6], information about the frequency of child maltreatment in high-income societies is still scarce and inconsistent.