Child Abuse & Neglect 37 (2013) 735–744 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Child Abuse & Neglect Fatal child maltreatment: Characteristics of deaths from physical abuse versus neglect Amy Damashek a,∗ , Melanie McDiarmid Nelson b , Barbara L. Bonner b a Western Michigan University, USA b University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, USA a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 19 October 2012 Received in revised form 12 April 2013 Accepted 25 April 2013 Available online 12 June 2013 Keywords: Child fatalities Child abuse Child neglect a b s t r a c t This study examined victim, family, and alleged perpetrator characteristics associated with fatal child maltreatment (FCM) in 685 cases identified by child welfare services in the state of Oklahoma over a 21-year period. Analyses also examined differences in child, family, and alleged perpetrator characteristics of deaths from abuse versus neglect. Case information was drawn from child welfare investigation records for all FCM cases identified by the state Department of Human Services. Fatal neglect accounted for the majority (51%) of deaths. Children were primarily younger than age 5, and parents were most frequently the alleged perpetrators. Moreover, most victims had not been the subject of a child welfare report prior to their death. A greater number of children in the home and previous family involvement with child welfare increased children’s likelihood of dying from neglect, rather than physical abuse. In addition, alleged perpetrators of neglect were more likely to be female and biologically related to the victim. These results indicate that there are unique family risk factors for death from neglect (versus physical abuse) that may be important to consider when selecting or developing prevention efforts. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. An estimated 1,570 children died as a result of fatal child maltreatment (FCM) in the U.S. in 2011, which is equiva- lent to 2.10 deaths per 100,000 children (USDHHS, 2012). While this number has decreased slightly in recent years, this figure may underestimate the actual number of FCM deaths, as underascertainment of FCM has been reported in pre- vious studies (Crume, DiGuiseppi, Byers, Sirotnak, & Garrett, 2002; Herman-Giddens et al., 1999). Of children who died from FCM in the US in 2011, 71% died from neglect either exclusively or in combination with other forms of maltreat- ment, and 48% died from physical abuse (either exclusively or in combination with other forms of maltreatment; USDHHS, 2012). A variety of victim, caregiver, family, and alleged perpetrator characteristics have been found to be associated with FCM. With regard to victim characteristics, studies examining children who died from FCM (inclusive of both abuse and neglect) found that younger children (age 4 and below) are more often FCM victims (Gellert, Maxwell, Durfee, & Wagner, 1995; Klevens & Leeb, 2010; Lyman et al., 2003; McCurdy & Daro, 1994; Sidebotham, Bailey, Belderson, & Brandon, 2011; USDHHS, 2012). According to the USDHHS (2012), children ages 0–3 accounted for 82% of deaths from FCM, and children less than 1 year accounted for 42% of FCM deaths in 2011. With regard to sex, based on studies examining deaths from physical abuse alone (de Silva & Oates, 1993; Herman-Giddens et al., 1999; Lucas et al., 2002; Lyman et al., 2003; Schnitzer & Ewigman, 2005) and both physical abuse and neglect (Klevens & Leeb, 2010), male and female children appear to be roughly equally ∗ Corresponding author address: Western Michigan University, Department of Psychology, 1903 W. Michigan, Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5439, USA. 0145-2134/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.04.014