Section 9 BatteredChild Syndrome,ShakenBabySyndrome,andChildAbuseFamilyProfile

• Library: Juvenile Law 2011

Medical, legal, and mental health experts use the battered child syndrome, the shaken baby syndrome, and the child abuse family profile to explain specific behavior patterns and characteristics common to abused children and abusive families.

In 1962, Dr. C. Henry Kempe and his colleagues used the term “battered child syndrome” in an influential article. C. Henry Kempe et al., The Battered Child Syndrome, 181 J. Am. Med. Ass’n 17 (1962). Earlier researchers had identified characteristics of children’s injuries that showed the injuries were deliberate rather than accidental, but the research had not attracted popular attention. Kempe’s article about child abuse aroused the attention of the media, the public, the medical profession, and lawmakers. In addition to describing characteristics of the injuries, the article identified other common characteristics of the battered child syndrome:

· Child younger than three years old

· Below-par health

· Poor hygiene

· Multiple soft tissue injuries

· Malnutrition

· Previous episodes of neglect or trauma

· Discrepancies between clinical findings and parents’ story

Id.

If no new injuries occur while the child is hospitalized or in a protective environment, this change of circumstance may also demonstrate that abuse caused the past injuries. Previous injuries in various stages of healing may appear. Especially in cases of serious abuse, the child frequently appears withdrawn, noncommunicative, and developmentally far below chronological age. Speech, language, and behavior patterns appear retarded and not age appropriate.

The battered child is often admitted to the hospital during evening hours and often has had multiple visits to various hospitals. Parents frequently appear reluctant to give the physician or medical staff information about the child, the child’s history, or the child’s present injuries. The parents may react inappropriately to news of the injury’s severity, such as by appearing relatively calm to the diagnosis of a fractured femur. Significant inconsistencies between parents’ explanations of injuries and the diagnosed condition, gaps between the estimated time of injury and the date of treatment, and an unusually confused social history also suggest a dysfunctional family.

Children may be at risk of abuse even though they show no obvious signs of injury. Poor nutrition or hygiene, for example, may indicate maltreatment. See, e.g., Vincent J. Fontana & Douglas J. Besharov, The Maltreated Child: The Maltreatment Syndrome in Children: A Medical, Legal and Social Guide 9 (5^th...