A study by researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Missouri-Columbia, has shown that children living in homes occupied by their mothers’ boyfriends or other non-relatives, are up to 48 times more likely to die from child abuse than those who live with two biological parents.
“It is not single parenthood per se that puts a child at risk,” said co-author Dr. Bernard Ewigman. “It is the presence in the household of unrelated adults, usually a male boyfriend, that dramatically increases the risk.”
The study, titled “Child Deaths Resulting From Inflicted Injuries: Household Risk Factors and Perpetrator Characteristics,” was published in the November edition of Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It examined all children 5 years of age who died in Missouri between January 1, 1992, and December 31, 1999.
The study’s authors write in the online abstract, “We identified 149 inflicted-injury deaths in our population during the 8-year study period. Children residing in households with unrelated adults were nearly 50 times as likely to die of inflicted injuries than children residing with 2 biological parents.”
“The majority of known perpetrators were male (71.2%), and most were the child's father (34.9%) or the boyfriend of the child's mother (24.2%).”
The researchers conclude, “Young children who reside in households with unrelated adults are at exceptionally high risk for inflicted-injury death. Most perpetrators are male, and most are residents of the decedent child's household at the time of injury.”
The study showed no increase in the risk of death in households with step or foster parents or with a single parent and no other adults.
(This article courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
