The ACMS identified, for the first time, how many Australians in the general population have been exposed to the five types of child abuse and neglect (physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence).
The ACMS used computer-assisted telephone interview surveys to interview 8500 Australians (including 3500 young people aged 16-24) about their childhood experiences of the five types of maltreatment.
In addition to capturing prevalence data, the ACMS identified long term mental and physical health outcomes associated with these various types of child abuse and neglect. We also calculated the burden of disease of child maltreatment to the nation.
The project had
three broad aims:
- To identify the percentage of Australians who experienced the different types of child maltreatment, and to identify important details about its characteristics (e.g., the age of onset, and the perpetrators of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse).
- To identify serious health outcomes associated with child maltreatment, including clinical mental disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, and alcohol use disorder), and health risk behaviours (e.g., self harm, suicide attempt, and smoking).
- To identify the burden of disease of child maltreatment to the nation.
Overall, the project aimed to conduct gold standard scientific research about the prevalence and associated outcomes of child maltreatment in Australia. The research team also aimed to engage closely with government stakeholders, policy leaders, sector and service providers, and the public, to translate its findings to influence public policy and understanding.
Our Approach
The Australian Child Maltreatment Study was informed by extensive preparatory work, including a global systematic review and critical appraisal of other prevalence studies. We built on the best existing approaches, and adapted and validated our survey instrument to advance earlier work. This novel approach ensured the quality and rigour of the ACMS, and enabled us to comprehensively capture reliable evidence about the prevalence of each of the five child maltreatment types, and their associated outcomes.
Our Team
The ACMS was designed and conducted by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers. The Lead Investigator was Professor Ben Mathews (Queensland University of Technology). Chief Investigators were from Australian universities (Queensland University of Technology, University of Queensland, Australian Catholic University, Curtin University) and overseas universities (University of New Hampshire, University of Edinburgh, University of Greenwich). The ACMS project manager was Dr Divna Haslam, and the project was further supported by a team of statisticians, research assistants, and graphic designers.
Our partners
The ACMS is proud to partner with the National Health and Medical Research Council, The Social Research Centre, and the Australian Government on this important project. For more information about our partners please click here.
