Physical abuse of children as a public health problem.

This review of the physical abuse of children by their parents or other adults is an attempt to present the epidemiological data on this subject in terms of a model which will facilitate public health intervention. Child abuse is a public health problem of sizable proportions in many nations. Studies of the problem have been largely concentrated in the United States, but the problem has also been of concern in many other nations throughout the world. Epidemiological findings are summarized, and a number of the major sociological and psychiatric theories of child abuse are discussed. A model of child abuse is proposed in the traditional public health terms of host, agent, vector, and environment.