Definition of Child Abuse
(noun) The intentional emotional, negligent, physical, or sexual mistreatment of a child by an adult.
Child Abuse Pronunciation
Syllabification: child a·buse
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /chIE-uhld uh-byOOs/
- British English – /chIEld uh-byOOs/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ʧaɪld əˈbjus/
- British English – /ʧaɪld əˈbjuːs/
Usage Notes
- Plural: child abuses
- What constitutes child abuse changes depending on the society and culture.
- Also called:
- child maltreatment
- child neglect
- Informally called baby battering.
Additional Information
- Family and Kinship Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “child” and “abuse” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Corsaro, William A. 2005. The Sociology of Childhood. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
- Dubowitz, Howard, and Joav Merrick, eds. 2010. International Aspects of Child Abuse and Neglect. New York: Nova Science.
- Goode, Sarah D. 2011. Paedophiles in Society: Reflecting on Sexuality, Abuse and Hope. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Kempe, Ruth S., and C. Henry Kempe. 1978. Child Abuse. London: Open Books.
- Kempe, Ruth S., and C. Henry Kempe. 1984. The Common Secret: Sexual Abuse of Children and Adolescents. New York: W. H. Freeman.
- Wyness, Michael G. 2006. Childhood and Society: An Introduction to the Sociology of Childhood. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Clinard, Marshall Barron, and Robert Frank Meier. 2011. Sociology of Deviant Behavior. 14th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Marsh, Ian, and Mike Keating, eds. 2006. Sociology: Making Sense of Society. 3rd ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Scott, John, and Gordon Marshall. 2005. A Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Stewart, Paul, and Johan Zaaiman, eds. 2015. Sociology: A Concise South African Introduction. Cape Town: Juta.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Child Abuse
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “child abuse.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved December 9, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/child-abuse/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
child abuse. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/child-abuse/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “child abuse.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed December 9, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/child-abuse/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“child abuse.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/child-abuse/>.