The evaluation of child maltreatment among child abuse evaluation clinics in Berlin, Germany - A multicenter study

A Brecht; L Bentz; D Olaya Mantilla; A Hoffmann; G Ibbeken; H Willner; S von Bismark; O Berthold; S M Winter

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107128

The evaluation of child maltreatment among child abuse evaluation clinics in Berlin, Germany - A multicenter study

Child Abuse Negl. 2024 Nov 9:158:107128. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107128. Online ahead of print.

Authors

A Brecht¹, L Bentz¹, D Olaya Mantilla¹, A Hoffmann², G Ibbeken³, H Willner⁴, S von Bismark⁵, O Berthold⁶, S M Winter⁷

Affiliations

¹ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charité- Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Insitute of Health, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
² Helios Hospital Berlin-Buch, Department for Pediatrics, Schwanebecker Chaussee 50, 13215 Berlin, Germany.
³ Sana Klinikum Lichtenberg, Department for Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Fanningerstraße 32, 10365 Berlin, Germany.
⁴ St. Joseph Krankenhaus Berlin-Tempelhof, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Wüsthoffstraße 15, 12101 Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Vivantes Klinikum Neukölln, Mother-Child Centre, Rudower Straße 48, 12351 Berlin, Germany.
⁶ DRK Kliniken Berlin | Westend, Department for Pediatrics, Spandauer Damm 130, 14050 Berlin, Germany.
⁷ Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charité- Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Insitute of Health, 13353 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: sibylle.winter@charite.de.

PMID: 39522414
DOI: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107128

Abstract

Background: Since child maltreatment can cause severe and lifelong developmental impairment, early evaluation by multidisciplinary child abuse evaluation clinics (CAEC) is recommended. Nevertheless, data on the evaluation outcome is rare to measure and little addressed by existing literature.

Objective: To assess the evaluation outcome clarified (confirmed or excluded abuse or neglect), not clarified (remains indeterminate) of suspected child maltreatment and to find associated predictors related to a respectively high or low clarification rate.

Participants and setting: N = 3056 children between 0 and 17;11 years, who were examined at the six CAEC in Berlin, Germany during 2016-2021, with a total number of N = 4576 assigned suspicions of different types of child maltreatment.

Method: Statistical analysis of differences between suspected types of child maltreatment, and correlations using diagnostic procedures as predictors and clarification as an outcome.

Results: CONCLUSIONS: Overall, CAEC are a useful instrument for the evaluation of the suspicion of different types of child maltreatment. The assessment of suspected child maltreatment requires significant resources and multidisciplinary collaboration, especially concerning sexual abuse.

Keywords: Abuse and neglect; Child abuse evaluation clinics; Child maltreatment; Evaluation outcome; Multidisciplinary assessment.