At least 1 in 7 children have experienced child abuse and/or neglect in the past year, and this is likely an underestimate.
In 2019, 1,840 children died of abuse and neglect in the United States. Each day, more than 1,000 youth are treated in emergency departments for physical assault-related injuries.
60% of adults report experiencing abuse or other difficult family circumstances during childhood.
26% of children in the United States will witness or experience a traumatic event before they turn four.
4 of every 10 children in American say they experienced a physical assault during the past year, with 1 in 10 receiving an assault-related injury.
Young children exposed to five or more significant adverse experiences in the first three years of childhood face a 76% likelihood of having one or more delays in their language, emotional or brain development.
As the number of traumatic events experienced during childhood increases, the risk for the following health problems in adulthood increases: depression; alcoholism; drug abuse; suicide attempts; heart and liver diseases; pregnancy problems; high stress; uncontrollable anger; and family, financial, and job problems.
People who have experienced trauma are: 15 times more likely to attempt suicide, 4 times more likely to become an alcoholic, 4 times more likely to develop a sexually transmitted disease, 4 times more likely to inject drugs, 3 times more likely to use antidepressant medication, 3 times more likely to be absent from work, 3 times more likely to experience depression, 3 times more likely to have serious job problems, 2.5 times more likely to smoke, 2 times more likely to develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 2 times more likely to have a serious financial problem.