Family structure and differential child abuse: The role of siblings

Abstract

The relationship between child abuse and sibling configuration, including the number of siblings, the number of years between siblings, birth order, and the agesex distribution of the siblings, was explored in the context of competing models of child outcomes. Equal probability sampling was used to extract archival child protection histories for 108 multi-child families, at least one of whose children was the reported victim of physical or sexual abuse. Random-effects Cox proportional hazards regression was applied to the resulting observations on 332 children in separate models for physical and sexual abuse. The results suggest that children are safer when they live with numerous, older, or widely spaced siblings, controlling for adult composition and prior victimization. Because perpetrators seek privacy, siblings may deter abuse through routine surveillance. Numerous, older, or widely spaced siblings might increase surveillance.