Socioeconomic position and adverse childhood conditions in child physical abuse

Child physical abuse (CPA) is a serious public health concern with lifelong adverse consequences. Socioeconomic position (SEP) is a well-established determinant of adverse exposures. However, evidence of its role as a risk factor for CPA and its interaction with other risk factors remains limited. This study aimed to identify the effect of SEP on CPA and how SEP might condition other risk factors, comparing police-reported and forensically examined children with the background population in Denmark. We extracted register-based data on 356 children who underwent forensic examinations in Copenhagen between 2020 and 2023. A register-based control group was established, including all children in Denmark aged 4–14 years as of January 1, 2022 ( N = 697,550). Logistic regression models were applied to model the odds of CPA as a function of SEP with child- and family characteristics. We observed that children living in families with low SEP had higher odds of being exposed to CPA (OR: 6.16; CI: 4.51–8.41), especially younger children aged 4–7 years (OR: 3.66; CI: 2.91–4.56), children with immigrant parents (OR: 8.83; CI: 6.12–12.73), and children living in single-parents families (OR: 2.90; CI: 2.29–3.67). No changes in odds were observed with the child's sex or maternal age at the child's birth. In conclusion, the odds of exposure to CPA were increased with low SEP, younger age (4–7 years), parental origin outside Denmark, and growing up in single-parent families. In contrast, the child's sex and the mother's age at the child's birth were not significantly associated with abuse.