Impact of Child Abuse & Neglect

Learn how child abuse and neglect affect children, adolescents, adult survivors, and society. This section examines the impact of abuse and neglect on child development, as well as long-term consequences for adults with a history of abuse. Impact is explored by type of abuse, family factors, and the social and economic consequences.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Defines ACEs and presents various resources including research findings from a 10-year scientific study analyzing the relationship between multiple categories of childhood trauma and health and behavioral outcomes later in life.

The Childhood Violent Trauma Center
Provides resources and a bibliographic database of information on the effects of violence exposure on children. The center also provides training and technical assistance to a variety of collaborative community programs that respond to children and families exposed to violence.

The Effects of Childhood Stress on Health Across the Lifespan (PDF - 1,030 KB)
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (2008)
Summarizes research on childhood stress and its implications for adult health and well-being, providing violence prevention practitioners with ideas about how to incorporate information on childhood stress into their work.

How Victims of Child Maltreatment Fare in School
Nguyen (2018)
Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Examines how homelessness, domestic violence, neglect, and abuse affect students across demographic and regional groups.

Long-Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect
Series Title Factsheets
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
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Ordene (Gratis)
Year Published 2019
Explains the long-term physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences of child abuse and neglect and provides an overview of adverse childhood experiences. It also discusses the importance of prevention and intervention efforts and promoting protective relationships and environments. Childhood maltreatment can be linked to later physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences as well as costs to society as a whole. The outcomes for each child may vary widely and are affected by a combination of factors. Additionally, children who experience maltreatment often are affected by other adverse experiences (e.g., parental substance use, domestic violence, poverty), which can make it difficult to separate the unique effects of maltreatment.

National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), 1997-2014 and 2015-2022
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
Examines child and family well-being outcomes in detail and seeks to relate those outcomes to their experience with the child welfare system and to family characteristics, community environment, and other factors.

Parenting Children and Youth Who Have Experienced Abuse or Neglect
Series Title Factsheets for Families
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
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Versión para imprimir (PDF - 313KB)
Ordene (Gratis)
Year Published 2018
Intended to help parents (birth, foster, and adoptive) and other caregivers better understand the challenges of caring for a child or youth who has experienced maltreatment and learn about available resources for support.

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