Poverty and child maltreatment

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NSPCC child protection research briefing

Poverty and child maltreatment (PDF, 152KB) is a short research briefing and literature review looking at the links between poverty and child abuse.

a number of prevalence and incidence studies have highlighted the link between poverty and some forms of child maltreatment, especially neglect, emotional and physical abuse
while the research shows an association between neglect and poverty, it does not mean that poverty causes neglect or abuse - the majority of families living in poverty do not maltreat their children and parent effectively
there are no large-scale studies that specifically examine the nature of the relationship between poverty and child maltreatment in the UK, but the most common explanation centres on the stress factors associated with poverty and social deprivation, which are further compounded if drug misuse and mental health issues come into play.