Child abuse is the physical or psychological/emotional mistreatment of children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts or commission or omission by a parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. Most child abuse happens in a child's home, with a smaller amount occurring in the organizations, schools or communities the child interacts with. There are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and sexual abuse.

Different jurisdictions have developed their own definitions of what constitutes child abuse for the purposes of removing a child from his/her family and/or prosecuting a criminal charge. The mental health journal states that child abuse is defined as “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation, an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm".

Types

Child abuse can take many forms:

• Neglect, in which the responsible adult fails to adequately provide for various needs, including physical (failure to provide adequate food, clothing, or hygiene), emotional (failure to provide nurturing or affection) or educational (failure to enroll a child in school).
• Physical abuse is physical aggression directed at a child by an adult. It can involve striking, burning, choking or shaking a child, and the distinction between discipline and abuse is often poorly defined. The transmission of toxins to a child through its mother (such as with fetal alcohol syndrome) can also be considered physical abuse in some jurisdictions.
• Child sexual abuse is any sexual act between an adult and a child, including penetration, fondling, exposure to adult sexuality and violations of privacy.
• Psychological abuse, also known as emotional abuse, which can involve belittling or shaming a child, inappropriate or extreme punishment and the withholding of affection.

Prevalence

Expand: date=October 2008 According to the (American) National Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, in 1997 neglect represented 54% of confirmed cases of child abuse, physical abuse 22%, sexual abuse 8%, emotional maltreatment 4%, and other forms of maltreatment 12%.

A UNICEF report on child well-being stated that the United States and the United Kingdom ranked lowest among first world nations with respect to the wellbeing of children. This study also found that child neglect and child abuse are far more common in single-parent families than in families where both parents are present.

Recently a study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that 1 in 50 infants in the United States are victims of nonfatal neglect or abuse. In the US, neglect is defined as the failure to meet the basic needs of children including housing, clothing, food and access to medical care. Researchers found over 91,000 cases of neglect over the course of one year (from October 2005- September 30, 2006) with their information coming from a database of cases verified by protective services agencies.