ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the many factors that may increase a child’s risk for being the victim of maltreatment. Risk factors are broken down into the following subcategories: Family Factors, Child Factors, Extrafamilial Factors, and Cultural Factors. The greatest amount of time is devoted to family factors which covers parental sex, substance abuse, mental illness, and lack of preparation as well as intergenerational transmission, family structure (single parents/number of children), domestic violence, and poor family functioning. While child factors such as age, sex, and disability are discussed, the fact that maltreatment is not the child’s fault is stressed. Extrafamilial factors include a lack of social support and poverty. Maltreatment within the military is also addressed. Finally, the impact of the broader culture on child maltreatment is covered.
