Child maltreatment affected nearly 700,000 children in the United States in 2012. Child maltreatment is broken down into four main divisions according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC): physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional...
moreChild maltreatment affected nearly 700,000 children in the United States in 2012. Child maltreatment is broken down into four main divisions according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC): physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. South Carolina's ranking for child well-being is among the poorest at 45th in the nation. Earlier recognition and intervention for a child victim of abuse allegations could result in a positive impact on their future health and well-being. The purpose of this paper is using SAS® to examine the relationship between primary caregivers' adverse childhood experiences score and child abuse allegations in the family. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) scores was used for this study. There were 10 items with possible responses of no or yes. The total scale was created by summing responses for 10 items. The data collection was conducted at the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) of Aiken where families with allegations of child abuse. Each participant completed an ACE score tool and a demographic questionnaire. Proc Mean and Freq used to describe the data. Proc Corr used to examine the linear relationship of total ACE score to ordinal and continuous variables. Proc T-Test, Npar1way, and GLM examine the difference of means for ACE score with selected variables. Male caregiver has slightly higher ACE score 8.28 compare to female 7.75. The average of ACE score was similar by site, race, and marital status. The ACE score was higher for physical abuse compare to other abuse. The result of T-test, nonparametric, and GLM did not reveal any significant difference between ACE score and above variables. All of the P values were greater than .05.