October 17, 2002

2002 North Dakota Child Abuse Survey Results Released

The majority of North Dakota residents feel child neglect, child physical abuse, and child sexual abuse are significant problems in the state. However, most perceive that the rates of child neglect and child physical abuse are lower than in other states, according to a survey by the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University.

Residents were evenly split in their opinion of whether child sexual abuse was the same or lower than in other parts of the nation. The results were from a random telephone survey of households throughout North Dakota conducted by the State Data Center in the spring of 2002. Interviews with 460 adult household members were completed with a margin of error of less than 5 percent.

"The survey shows that people in our state are concerned about child abuse and want state government to become more actively involved in prevention" says Richard Rathge, director of the State Data Center. The results indicate that most respondents agreed that state government is actively involved in prevention, however, they overwhelmingly supported more involvement by state government in prevention programs."

Gladys Cairns, Administrator of Child Protection Services, at the North Dakota Department of Human Services is pleased with residents’ willingness to complete the survey. However, she notes, "Way too many children are suffering. Way too many families are suffering. We’ve got to stop it. We should not have 4,000 reports of child abuse in North Dakota." In 2001, there were 2,120 reported cases of child neglect, 1,114 cases of reported child physical abuse, and 298 reported cases of child sexual abuse according to Child Protection Services.

Victims of child abuse often have additional problems later in life as a result of the trauma. Dr. Stephen Wonderlich, Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the Medical Education Center of the University of North Dakota notes that child abuse victims have higher rates of drug abuse, depression, and suicide. "The average age of abused and neglected children is less than 10 years, usually eight. We’re talking about the youngest of the young. It’s not surprising, therefore, that these kids develop all sorts of problems," he says.

A statewide campaign has been initiated to reduce the incidence of child sexual abuse and improve understanding of the problem. A task force of 40 members called the Alliance for Children’s Justice will spearhead the efforts with coordination from the Department of Human Services. The focus of the group is to develop prevention strategies. During the next year, a prevention plan will be developed that centers on organizations whose members can help with prevention and prevention education for families.

Other key findings include:

• Respondents greatly underestimated the amount of child neglect occurring in North Dakota. Nearly two-thirds of respondents thought there were fewer than 1,000 cases of child neglect reported in North Dakota in 2001 when the actual number of cases was nearly twice that amount.
• Most respondents thought children who are neglected are likely to continue the pattern of neglect when they become parents.
• Respondents also greatly underestimated the amount of child physical abuse occurring in the state. Nearly two-thirds underestimated the number of reported cases in 2001 by more than half. According to the North Dakota Department of Human Services, there were 2,120 reported cases of suspected child physical abuse in 2001.
• Fewer than 14 percent of respondents agreed that hitting a child is okay when the child misbehaves.
• Respondents were mixed in their opinion regarding the age at which children are most vulnerable to sexual abuse as well as the number of reported cases in the state. According to the North Dakota Department of Human Services, just under 300 cases were reported in 2001.
• Nearly all of the respondents (94 percent) perceived that acquaintances, friends, and family members are the most likely to sexually abuse children, not strangers.
• 47 percent of respondents reported that they knew of a person who had experienced a form of child abuse. The form of abuse was nearly evenly split among neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse.
• Three-fourths of respondents said they knew the appropriate steps in reporting child abuse, and nearly all were willing to do so if they became aware of an abuse situation.

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Sources: Richard Rathge, (701) 231-8621, richard.rathge@ndsu.nodak.edu,
Gladys Cairns (701) 328-4806, Stephen Wonderlich (701) 293-4112
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu