This article discusses information about sexual abuse. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call RAINN's national sexual assault hotline at 1-800-656-4673 for confidential support.

OHIO — Thousands of kids have been abused or neglected. Now, new research shows that the maltreatment of kids is not simply committed by one parent, but instead, commonly by both parents.

What You Need To Know

• Researchers studied the behavior and outcomes of thousands of parents across 11 states around the age of 30 with kids around 3-years-old


• One in five cases of child maltreatment involve both mothers and fathers


• Parents with disabilities and medical challenges were more associated with the abuse of kids


• The study was published on MDPI on April 11, click here

“We know that one in five cases of child maltreatment involve both mothers and fathers,” said Dr. Joyce Lee, lead author of a new study and assistant professor of Social Work at Ohio State University. “And we also know from research that mother, father co-involved trauma is more severe and leads to more injuries for the child than, say, maltreatment committed by just one parent only.”

Also, while many may think substance use by parents would lead to higher odds of abuse, the study uncovered something different. 

She explained that with parents involved in substance use, the likelihood of physical abuse and sexual abuse was less.

“There isn’t a lot of bandwidth or wherewithal to be able to engage in any type of parenting, let alone something like physical abuse, which is harsh parenting, right or sexual abuse,” she said.

However, parents with disabilities and medical challenges were more associated with the abuse of kids. Where parents struggled with their challenges and could not take care of themselves, Lee said they found role reversals in the home.

“The child might be stepping up to kind of take on that role as a parent,” she said.

In that reversal, the suffocation of the child occurred and “parents, unfortunately, may be training their children to meet their sexual needs.”

“We need to take a sort of comprehensive, multi-level approach to assessing risk factors that are happening between mothers and fathers,” Lee said.

This includes determining through further studies how and why parents co-conspiracy to abuse and or neglect their children. Even so, Lee believes there’s a great need for programs and policies to address all the issues mentioned, in addition to inadequate housing and intimate partner violence in families.