Increased child abuse in twins.

Premature birth, neonatal complications, isolation, financial pressures, exhaustion and increased family size increase the risk for child abuse. All these factors may be associated with the birth of twins. Of 310 abused/neglected children under the age of 4 in an abuse and at-risk for abuse/neglect registry, 16 were twins which is a significant increase over the rate of 6.2 predicted by the twin birth rate of 2% (p less than .001). Descriptive data from a chart review are presented.