The prevalence and impact of child maltreatment in Australia: Findings from the Australian Child Maltreatment Study

Abstract

The ACMS report provides an overview of the background and methodology of the Australian Child Maltreatment Study including approach to instrument adaptation and refinement and overall methodology. It then provides a brief summary of each of the major findings including:

• The prevalence of all five types of child maltreatment among the Australian population and among young people aged 16-24 years of age.
• The prevalence of multi-type maltreatment among the Australian population and among young people aged 16-24 years of age.
• The associations between experiences of child maltreatment and mental health disorders (major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, alcohol use disorder).
• The associations between experiences of child maltreatment and health risk behaviours including suicide and non-suicidal self-injury (self-harm), binge drinking, cannabis dependence, obesity and smoking.
• The associations between experiences of child maltreatment and health service use.

The report ends with a series of 8 key recommendations.