Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Nov 21;12(11):e063905.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063905.

Asking youth and adults about child maltreatment: a review of government surveys

Aimée Campeau  1 , Masako Tanaka  2 , Jill R McTavish  2 , Harriet MacMillan  3 , Chris McKee  2 , Wendy E Hovdestad  4 , Andrea Gonzalez  2 , Tracie O Afifi  5 , Ashley Stewart-Tufescu  6 , Lil Tonmyr  4
Affiliations
Review

Asking youth and adults about child maltreatment: a review of government surveys

Aimée Campeau et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: In this review we: (1) identify and describe nationally representative surveys with child maltreatment (CM) questions conducted by governments in low-income, middle-income and high-income countries and (2) describe procedures implemented to address respondents' safety and minimise potential distress.

Design: We conducted a systematic search across eight databases from 1 January 2000 to 5 July 2021 to identify original studies with information about relevant surveys. Additional information about surveys was obtained through survey methods studies, survey reports, survey websites or by identifying full questionnaires (when available).

Results: Forty-six studies representing 139 surveys (98 youth and 41 adult) conducted by governments from 105 countries were identified. Surveys implemented a variety of procedures to maximise the safety and/or reduce distress for respondents including providing the option to withdraw from the survey and/or securing confidentiality and privacy for the respondent. In many surveys, further steps were taken such as providing information for support services, providing sensitivity training to survey administrators when interviews were conducted, among others. A minority of surveys took additional steps to empirically assess potential distress experienced by respondents.

Conclusions: Assessing risk and protective factors and developing effective interventions and policies are essential to reduce the burden of violence against children. While asking about experiences of CM requires careful consideration, procedures to maximise the safety and minimise potential distress to respondents have been successfully implemented globally, although practices differ across surveys. Further analysis is required to assist governments to implement the best possible safety protocols to protect respondents in future surveys.

Keywords: community child health; epidemiology; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Studies included (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flow diagram). CM, child maltreatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Reading R, Bissell S, Goldhagen J, et al. . Promotion of children's rights and prevention of child maltreatment. Lancet 2009;373:332–43. 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61709-2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gilbert R, Widom CS, Browne K, et al. . Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries. Lancet 2009;373:68–81. 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61706-7 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mathews B, MacMillan HL, Meinck F, et al. . The ethics of child maltreatment surveys in relation to participant distress: implications of social science evidence, ethical guidelines, and law. Child Abuse Negl 2022;123:105424. 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105424 - DOI - PubMed
    1. UNICEF . General measures of implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child [Internet], 2003. Available: https://www.unicef-irc.org/portfolios/general_comments/GC5_en.doc.html
    1. Levy MA, Scobie M. Goal 16: promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. review of the sustainable development goals: the science perspective. Paris: International Council for Science (ICSU), 2015. http://bit.ly/1xbUwpP

Publication types