The Second National Prevalence Study Maltreatment of Children and Youth (NPM-2010)

It is known that child maltreatment has a profound impact on children's
development. However, only recently the number of children who experienced
maltreatment in the Netherlands has been estimated. Results of this study
(NPM-2005) showed that prevalence of child maltreatment was 107,000, or 30 per
1,000 children (Van IJzendoorn et al., 2007). The "scholieren over
Mishandeling" (SOM) study, which was done in approximately the same time period
showed higher prevalences (195 out of 1,000; Lamers-Winkelman et al., 2007). In
this study, high school students were asked about their own experiences with
maltreatment.
It is important to perform a new prevalence study in order to compare the
results of those in 2005. The current study is a replication of the NPM-2005
and the SOM. With this study we aim to investigate the numbers of children who
experienced different types of maltreatment in the Netherlands and to identify
risk factors for child maltreatment. We also aim to start a periodical monitor
with which the effect of different local and national policies can be
delineated.

We aim to answer the following research questions:

What is the prevalence of child maltreatment in the Netherlands?
Which types of maltreatment are prevalent and how are they interrelated?
What are characteristics of the victims of child maltreatment?
What are characteristics of the perpetrators of child maltreatment?
In which types of situations does child maltreatment occur?
What percentage of the number of child maltreatment cases is also reported to
CPS?
What are differences in terms of prevalence and risk factors as compared to
2005?
What is the effect of the RAAK-policy on the prevalence of child maltreatment?

The NPM-2010 will consist of a sentinel and a self-report study.

Sentinel study
For every province sentinels were sampled from organizations withing several
occupational branches:

Child Protection Services

Sentinels other than CPS:
- primary education
- secondary education
- women's shelter
- child care
- police
- first aid
- general practitioner
- pediatrician
- well-baby clinic
- child and family court advisory and support service

In total we will sample about 1,500 sentinels. They will be asked to register
every child for whom they suspect child maltreatment during a period of three
months.


Self-report study
We will ask students from grades 1-4 of the Dutch secondary school system, who
attend the high schools that were sampled in the sentinel study. These students
will be asked to fill out a questionnaire.

There are no risks associated with participation. The burden for the sentinels
is small. In the NPM-2005 the mean number of forms filled in by the informants
was about 1 during a period of three months.
The high school students will be asked to fill out a questionnaire during a
1-hr class. Some studens may feel the need to talk to a confidential counsellor
after filling out the questionnaire. Therefore, we have contacted JGZ-agencies
across the country to appoint a (female) pediatrician who can take up the role
of confidential counsellor. The envelope with the questionnaire will also
include a card with contact information of this person.