Antecedents of Child Abuse and Neglect in Premature Infants: A Prospective Study in a Newborn Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Families of premature and ill newborns admitted to a regional newborn intensive care unit were studied prospectively to assess the incidence of reported child abuse and neglect. Of the 255 infants discharged to their parents, 10 were subsequently reported as victims of maltreatment during the 1st yr of life. The high incidence of maltreatment (3.9%) in these premature and ill newborns supports the previous findings that there is an increased risk of maltreatment in these special infants. Family psychosocial characteristics (13), assessed by admission interview, showed significant association with later maltreatment. These family characteristics included social isolation, a family history of child abuse and neglect, serious marital problems, inadequate child care arrangements, apathetic and dependent personality styles and inadequate child spacing. Maltreated infants were less mature at birth and had more congenital defects than their nursery mates. There was also less family-infant contact during the prolonged nursery hospitalization in families in which maltreatment eventually occurred.