Responsible 

Fatherhood 

Spotlight 

March 2008 

Take Time to Be a Dad Today 

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse  101 Lake Forest Boulevard, Suite 360  Gaithersburg, MD 20877  

Toll-free: 1 (877) 4DAD411  Fax: (301) 948-4325  www.fatherhood.gov 

Fathers and Child Maltreatment 

In 2005, approximately 1 million children were victims of maltreatment, and an estimated 1,490 children 

died from their resulting injuries. Approximately 58 percent of the perpetrators were women, most of them 

mothers, while 42.2 percent were men.i

 Children who were victims of sexual abuse were more likely to be 

maltreated by a father acting alone than were children who were victims of neglect or physical abuse.ii

Definitions 

Child Maltreatment is defined by the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act as the “physical 

and mental injury, sexual abuse, negligent treatment, or maltreatment of a child under the age of 18 by a 

person who is responsible for the child’s welfare under circumstances which indicate that the child’s 

health or welfare is harmed or threatened.”iii Each state provides its own definition of child abuse and 

neglect.iv 

The Child Welfare System encompasses services and agencies that promote the well-being of children 

by ensuring their safety, achieving their permanent placement, and strengthening families to successfully 

care for their children.v

 A report of suspected child abuse or neglect is the most common reason that 

families become involved with the child welfare system.vi 

Perpetrators of child maltreatment are parents or caregivers (i.e., other relatives, foster parents, or 

residential facility staff) who have been found by a child welfare agency to be responsible for the 

maltreatment of a child by either committing an act of maltreatment, allowing an act of maltreatment to 

occur, or contributing to the risk of maltreatment. 

Child maltreatment may take one of several forms. 

• Physical Abuse occurs when a caretaker deliberately injures a child physically. Examples of 

physical abuse include shaking, slapping, punching, beating, kicking, biting, and burning a child.vii

• Sexual Abuse is the involvement of dependent, developmentally immature children and 

adolescents in sexual activities that they do not fully comprehend and to which they are unable to 

give informed consent. Sexual abuse includes touching, fondling, and penetration.viii

• Neglect is the failure of caretakers to provide for a child’s fundamental needs. Although neglect 

can include ignoring children’s emotional needs, neglect typically is used to describe not 

providing children with adequate food, housing, clothing, medical care, and education.ix

• Emotional/Psychological Abuse is marked by behavior that threatens or intimidates a child. It can 

include habitual verbal harassment of a child by disparagement, threat, ridicule, name-calling, 

and shaming.x

 

Child Protective Services (CPS) agencies respond to the needs of children who are alleged to have been 

maltreated and try to ensure that they remain safe. CPS generally is a division within a child welfare 

agency that administers a more narrow set of services, such as receiving and responding to child abuse 

and neglect allegations and providing initial help to stabilize a family.xi 
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Importance and Implications of Child Maltreatment 

Studies show that mothers are more likely to abuse or neglect their children than are fathers, perhaps 

because a large proportion of families today are headed by single mothers.xii In contrast, relatively little 

research has examined how fathers either directly contribute to the risk of child abuse in a family or play a 

protective role. 

Implications for Fathers 

• Non-custodial fathers often do not gain custody of their children once they enter the child welfare 

system due to a number of barriers including but not limited to: 1) Case worker bias against father 

involvement; 2) characteristics of non-custodial fathers because a significant number of noncustodial fathers are incarcerated, homeless, significantly impaired by substance abuse, or 

otherwise unable to provide emotional or financial support to the mother and children;xiii and 3) 

Failure to establish paternity. xiv Mothers may affect the level of involvement of non-custodial 

fathers by failing to identify fathers initially or by downplaying the father’s importance in the child’s 

life.xv

• Higher levels of father involvement are associated with lower levels of child neglect. Fathers who 

nurture and take significant responsibility for basic child care are much less likely to sexually 

abuse their children.xvi These fathers typically develop such a strong connection with their 

children that the likelihood of any maltreatment is low.xvii

• Certain characteristics of fathers, such as underemployment or unemployment, can increase a 

father’s stress level, which may make him more likely to abuse his children physically.xviii

Implications for Children 

• Children who live in fatherless households often face higher risks of physical abuse, sexual 

abuse, and neglect than do children who live in households with a father present..xix 

• Child maltreatment during infancy and early childhood has been shown to negatively affect child 

development, including brain and cognitive development, attachment, and academic 

achievement. Child abuse and neglect can have enduring physical, intellectual, and psychological 

effects that can carry over into adolescence and adulthood.xx

• The immediate effects of physical child abuse can include bruises, burns, lacerations, and broken 

bones, whereas the longer-term effects can include brain damage, hemorrhages, and permanent 

disabilities. Physical trauma and abuse can also hurt children’s physical, social, emotional, and 

cognitive development.xxi

• The effects of child sexual abuse may include fear, anxiety, depression, anger, hostility, 

inappropriate sexual behavior, poor self-esteem, substance abuse, and difficulty forming close 

relationships.xxii

• Child neglect can have devastating effects on children’s intellectual, physical, social, and 

psychological development, as shown by studies that have documented a high risk of significant 

developmental problems in children who have been neglected by their caregivers.xxiii

• Psychological maltreatment can seriously interfere with a child’s cognitive, emotional, 

psychological, and social development. The effects of emotional abuse may include insecurity, 

poor self-esteem, destructive behavior, withdrawal, poor development of basic skills, alcohol or 

drug abuse, suicide, difficulty forming relationships, and unstable job histories.xxiv

Trends in Child Maltreatment Over Time 

Child maltreatment rates declined roughly 23 percent between 1992 and 2003. Figure 1 shows the 

national victimization trends for three basic types of child maltreatment. Rates of sexual abuse declined 

steadily throughout the 1990s, with a total decline of 47 percent between 1990 and 2003. Physical abuse 

rates showed a considerable 36 percent decline between 1992 and 2003. Rates of neglect fluctuated in 

this period, showing only a small overall net decline of 7 percent between 1990 and 2003.xxv
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Figure 1. U.S. Child Maltreatment Trends, 1990-2003 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Children’s Bureau, 1992 – 2005 (Jones et al., 2006)

Differences in Child Maltreatment by Subgroups 

More children suffer from neglect in the United States than they do from physical and sexual abuse 

combined. Research shows that perpetrators’ patterns differ by type of maltreatment. Although mothers

are almost twice as likely to be directly involved in child maltreatment as fathers, when it comes to sexual 

abuse, fathers are more likely to be reported for this crime.xxvii

Differences by Gender of Perpetrator 

Table 1 shows that between 2001 and 2005, mothers were twice as likely as were fathers to be 

perpetrators of child maltreatment. 

Table 1: Percentage of Mothers and Fathers Who Maltreated Children, 

2001-2004xxviii

xxvi

Mother Only Father 

Only 

Nonparent

2001 40.5 17.7 11.9 

2002 40.3 19.1 13.0 

2003 40.8 18.8 13.4 

2004 38.8 18.3 10.1 

2005 40.4 18.3 10.3 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Children’s Bureau, Child Maltreatment 2001 – 2005 

Difference by Age of Perpetrator 

Table 2 shows that in each of the years between 1999 and 2004, men and women between the ages of 

30 and 39 were more likely to be perpetrators of child maltreatment than people in any other age group. 
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Table 2: Percentage of Male and Female Perpetrators by Age, 1999-2004 

Male Female 

1999 2001 2004 1999 2001 2004 

<20 6.4 6.7 6.3 4.7 4.6 4.2 

20-29 24.8 25.2 27.8 36.8 37.7 40.2 

30-39 40.7 39.4 37 42.3 40.9 38.1 

40-49 20.8 21.3 21.6 12.4 13.1 13.8 

>49 7.3 7.4 7.2 3.8 3.7 3.8 

Total 211,921 327,516 303,604 342,126 476,870 415,344 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Children’s Bureau, Child Maltreatment 1999, 2001, 2004 

Differences by Relationship to Child 

Table 3 shows that in 2002, more than one-half of all male perpetrators were biological fathers of the 

maltreated children. Men who were not parents of the maltreated child (“nonpareents”) constituted the 

second largest group of perpetrators (25 percent). Boyfriends, stepfathers, adoptive fathers, and 

“combination fathers” accounted for the remaining 25 percent of male perpetrators. This latter term refers 

to men with more than one relationship type of which at least one relationship was that of a parent. 

Table 3: Male Perpetrators by Relationship to Child, 2002 (N= 89,028) 

Father Type Percent 

Biological Father 51 

Adoptive Father 1 

Stepfather 8 

Mother’s Boyfriend 10 

Combination Father 5 

Nonparent 25 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, (Shusterman

and Fluke, 2005) 

Differences by Type of Maltreatment 

Table 4 shows that in 2002, physical abuse was the most frequent type of child maltreatment perpetrated 

by both adoptive fathers and stepfathers. 

Stepfathers were primarily associated with physical abuse cases. Children were primarily neglected by 

combination fathers (56 percent). Nonparental perpetrators were primarily associated with sexual abuse 

(68 percent). Among children who were victims of emotional abuse, the main perpetrator was the 

biological father. 

Table 4: Percentage of Perpetrators by Type of Maltreatment, 2002 

(N = 89,028) 

Abuse 

Biological 

Father 

Adoptive 

Father Stepfather 

Mother's 

Boyfriend 

Combination 

Father Non-parent 

Physical 26 33 34 30 8 11 

Neglect 50 23 20 31 56 12 

Sexual 7 24 30 20 7 68 

Emotional 7 3 4 6 3 2 

Multiple 11 17 12 13 25 7 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, 

(Shusterman and Fluke, 2005) 
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Differences in Child Neglect by Gender of Parent 

Table 5 shows that children are more than three times as likely to be neglected by the female parent 

(mother) than by the male parent (father). 

Table 5. Percentage Children Neglected by the mother and by the father, 1998-2000 

Mother Father Both Parents Total 

1998 52.3 12.5 17.1 307,078 

1999 51.7 12.4 18.5 307,078 

2000 46.9 12.1 21.9 399,747 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Children’s Bureau, Child Maltreatment 1998-2000 

Difference in Physical Abuse by Gender of Parent 

Physical maltreatment is one of the most common reasons that a child is referred to child protective 

services. xxix,xxx 

Table 6 shows that children are more likely to be physically abused by a female parent than by a male 

parent. Children are twice as likely to be physically harmed by the female parent acting alone rather than 

by both parents together. 

Table 6. Percentage of Children Physically Abused by the mother and by the father, 1998-2000 

Mother Father Both Parents 

1998 34.6 26.8 14.0 

1999 35.6 26.6 14.2 

2000 32.1 28.2 13.5 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Children’s Bureau, Child Maltreatment 1998-2000. 

(Total sample size not available) 

Differences in Sexual Abuse by Gender of Parent 

Research shows that fathers or father surrogates (cohabiting husbands or boyfriends who are not 

biologically related to the child) are responsible for far more cases of severe sexual abuse and fatalities 

than are women perpetrators.xxxi Table 7 shows that the percentage of children who are sexually abused 

by the male parent is more than six times greater than the percentage of children who are sexually 

abused by the female parent. 

Table 7. Percentage of Children Sexually Abused by the mother and by the father, 1998-2000 

Mother Father Both Parents 

1998 3.8 22.0 12.0 

1999 3.9 20.8 12.3 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Children’s Bureau, Child Maltreatment 1998-2000 

Differences in Medical Maltreatment by Gender of Parent 

Table 8 shows that children are ten times more likely to be medically neglected by the female parent than 

by the male parent. 
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Table 8. Percentage of Children Medically Neglected by the mother and by the father, 1998-1999 

Mother Father Both Parents 

1998 58.7 5.9 21.2 

1999 61.3 6.6 19.1 

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Children’s Bureau, Child Maltreatment 1998-1999 

Resources 

• NCANDS Data are published in The Child Maltreatment reports: 

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm#can

• The Child Welfare Information Gateway (formerly the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and 

Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, Child Welfare Information 

Gateway) provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen 

families. This resource is a service of the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.childwelfare.gov/

• The Children’s Bureau provides state and national data on adoption and foster care, child abuse 

and neglect, and child welfare. The bureau also funds research in collaboration with other 

organizations: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm

Definitions of Measures, and Data Sources 

Information on trends in child maltreatment was reported by Jones and colleagues in Child Maltreatment 

Trends in the 1990s: Why Does Neglect Differ From Sexual and Physical Abuse? The National Child 

Abuse and Neglect Data System or NCANDS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 

Children’s Bureau, 1992 – 2005) was the primary data source used to calculate the maltreatment 

trends.xxxii 

NCANDS is a federally sponsored project that collects and analyzes annual data on child abuse and 

neglect. The 1988 amendments to the Child Abuse and Prevention and Treatment Act directed the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to establish a national data collection and analysis 

program. The Children’s Bureau in the Administration on Children, Youth and Families within the DHHS 

collects and analyzes these data, which are used for the annual report, Child Maltreatment.

xxxiii

Aggregate data from the NCANDS, published in Child Maltreatment Reports 1999-2004, were used to 

calculate child perpetrator percentages by age and gender, national child maltreatment trends, 

relationship status of perpetrator to victims, and relationships of perpetrators to child victims by type of 

maltreatment. In addition, the differences in characteristics of male perpetrators of child maltreatment and 

differences in male perpetrators by type of maltreatment were reported by Shusterman and Fluke (2005) 

in Male Perpetrators of Child Maltreatment: Findings from NCANDS.

xxxiv 

Data Limitations 

Due to the limited research on fathers and child maltreatment, the percentages presented here are taken 

from two primary sources: the NCANDS and the volume by Shusterman and Fluke (2005). These sources 

do not constitute a statistically representative sample of maltreated children in the United States. For 

example, because states are not required to submit data to the NCANDS, some states do not participate. 

Between 1998 and 2004, the average number of states participating was 33. In addition, when conducting 

analyses with NCANDS data, it is important to keep in mind that state-to-state variation in child 

maltreatment laws and information systems may affect the interpretation of the data.xxxv The final data set 

from Shusterman and Fluke (2005) included 192,321 unduplicated perpetrators, perpetrators who were 

counted only once, based on data from only 18 states. The designation of the individuals of this data set 

as perpetrators was made by Child Protective Services’ representatives during the disposition of a report 

or reports of child maltreatment. 
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References 

 

i

 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Child Maltreatment 2004 (Washington, 

DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2006). Retrieved February 16, 2007, from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/pubs/cm04/index.htm ii Rosenberg, J., & Wilcox, B. W. (2006). The importance of fathers in the healthy development of children. Washington, DC: Children’s 

Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Children’s Bureau; available at 

http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/fatherhood/fatherhood.pdf.

iii Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), 42 (2003). 

iv National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information. (2003). Child Abuse and Neglect Statute Series Statutes-at-a-Glance: 

Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect, available at: http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov. v Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2006). How Does the Child Welfare System Work? U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

Administration on Children, Youth and Families; available at http:// www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/cpswork.cfm. vi National Child Welfare Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice, Best Practice/Next Practice. (Summer 2002) Father Involvement in 

Child Welfare: Estrangement and reconciliation; available at 

http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/downloads/newsletter/BPNPSummer02.pdf.

vii Oates, R.K. (1996). The Spectrum of Child Abuse: Assessment, Treatment, and Prevention, Brunner/Mazel Inc., New York. viii Ibid. ix Ibid.

x Ibid. 

xi Badeau, S. & Gesiriech. A child’s journey through the child welfare system. The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care. Accessed 

March 8, 2007, from http://pewfostercare.org/docs/index.php?DocID=24 xii Rosenberg, J., & Wilcox, B. W. (2006). The importance of fathers in the healthy development of children. U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services. Children’s Bureau; available at http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/fatherhood/fatherhood.pdf. xiii xiv Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Reports on Paternity. Use of Voluntary Paternity 

Acknowledgements.

xv Billing, A., Karin M., & Freya L. S. (2002). “Study of Fathers' Involvement in Permanency Planning and Child Welfare Casework”, available 

at http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/CW-dads02/. xvi Pruett, K. (2000). Father-need. New York, NY: Broadway Books. xvii Rosenberg, J., & Wilcox, B. W. (2006). The importance of fathers in the healthy development of children. U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services. Children’s Bureau; available at http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/fatherhood/fatherhood.pdf. xviii Chaffin, M., Kelleher, K. and Hollenberg, J. (1996). Onset of physical abuse and neglect: psychiatric, substance abuse, and social risk 

factors from prospective community data, Child Abuse and Neglect, vol.20, no.3, pp.191 - 203. xix Ibid. xx Child Welfare Information Gateway. Protecting children - Strengthening families (2006). Impact of child development. Retrieved March 15, 

2007, from http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/impact/development/ xxi Child Welfare Information Gateway. Protecting children - Strengthening families (2006). Impact of physical abuse. Retrieved March 15, 

2007, from http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/impact/types/physical.cfm xxii Child Welfare Information Gateway. Protecting children - Strengthening families (2006). Impact of sexual abuse. Retrieved March 15, 

2007, from http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/types/sexualabuse/index.cfm xxiii Child Welfare Information Gateway. Protecting children - Strengthening families (2006). Impact of child neglect. Retrieved March 15, 

2007, from http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/impact/types/neglect.cfm xxiv Child Welfare Information Gateway. Protecting children - Strengthening families (2006). Impact of emotional abuse. Retrieved March 15, 

2007, from http://www.childwelfare.gov/can/impact/types/emotional.cfm xxv Jones, L., Finkelhor, D., & Halter, S. (2006). Child maltreatment trends in the 1990s: Why does neglect differ from sexual and physical 

abuse? Child Maltreatment, 11(2), 107-120. xxvi Ibid. xxvii Ibid. xxviii 2001 data based on 35 states, 2002 data based on 36 states, 2003 data based on 38 states, 2004 data based on 35 states. xxix Lindsey, D. (2004). The child welfare system. New York: Oxford University Press. xxx Wolfe, David A. (1999). Child abuse: Implications for child development and psychopathology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. xxxi Brewster, A. L., Nelson, J. P., Hymel, K. P., Colby, D. R., Lucas, D. R., McCanne, T. R., et al. (1998). Victim, perpetrator, family, and 

incident characteristics of 32 infant maltreatment deaths in the United States Air Force. Child Abuse and Neglect, 22(2), 91-101. xxxii Jones, L. Finkelhor, D., & Halter, S. (2006). Child maltreatment trends in the 1990s: Why does neglect differ from sexual and physical 

abuse? Child Maltreatment, 11(2), 107-120. xxxiii U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, Child Maltreatment 2003: Reports from 

the states to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2004). Also available at

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm#can 

xxxiv Shusterman, G. R., Fluke, J. D., & Yuan, Y.-Y. T. (2005). Male perpetrators of child maltreatment: Findings from NCANDS (Secondary 

Analysis on Child Abuse and Neglect Topics of Current Policy Interest No. 1). Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Health and Human 

Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

xxxv Westat. (2006). Data on health and well-being of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other Native Americans. Data Catalog. Prepared 

for: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved April 10, 2007, from http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/06/Catalog-AI-ANNA/NCANDS.htm