So sad.
As the recent recession started to rise, so did the cases of child abuse. This is something that people had theorized before, but now there’s some concrete data to back it up:
The study looked at children under five in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington and showed that from 2004 to 2009, there were 422 children diagnosed with what doctors call “abusive head trauma.” The majority ended up in intensive care units (ICUs), and 16 percent died of their injuries.
In the three years leading up to December 2007, just around the time of the market crash, the rate of abusive head injuries was 8.9 per year per 100,000 children. After that date, the number jumped to 14.7 per 100,000.
Berger said she noticed a sharp uptick in the number of children who came to her hospital with head injuries in 2008. From 17 cases per year, it suddenly jumped to 37 in 2008.
That’s disturbing.
There’s really no other way to put it.
So why does this happen? What’s the link? They’re not absolutely sure, but:
While it is unclear how to account for the findings, Berger added that fewer resources might have forced mothers to leave their babies with people who don’t usually take care of them, such as fathers or male caretakers.
It could even be because babies cry and people who don’t usually take care of them don’t realize that there are really only 5 reasons why they cry — bored, hungry, tired, pain, or diaper — so it stresses people out when they can’t find the solution, which could lead to violence.
Terrible.
People just need to take a step back and think about what they’re doing. We hope this trend doesn’t last.
[Image via AP Images.]