"Of considerable importance, the Gallup poll and other population surveys.include ratings of very specific acts that.illustrate how the definition of violence affects estimates of prevalence rates.For instance, if spanking is considered to be violent., then an estimated two-thirds of children in the United States are victims of abuse.  When violence is defined as hitting with an object,.the rate drops to 5%.  Naturally, rates become even lower when physical child abuse is defined by increasingly severe actions [such as throwing or knocking a child down, hitting with a fist, and beating up or choking a child].

".we do want to point out that it is likely that there has been some real increase in child abuse in recent years.  Although the number of moderate cases of child abuse remained stable between 1986 and 1993, the number of serious cases.quadrupled.If the increase was solely due to increased awareness or 'definitional creep,'.one would expect increases across all levels of severity."

Your Opinions:

1. Explain in your own words what you think the authors mean by definitional creep as it related to child abuse.
2. Is there an advantage to referring to specific acts, as was done in the Gallup poll, when defining child abuse?  Why or why not?
3. If you were conducting research on child abuse, would you include spanking on the bottom as a form of abuse in your definition?  Why or why not?
4. In addition to the possibility of a changing of definition over time, could the increase in reported cases also be attributed, in part, to the public's awareness of the issue?  Why or why not?

¹Source/Reference:  Emery, R.E., & Laumann-Billings, L. (1998).  An overview of the nature, causes, and consequences of abusive family relationships.  American Psychologist, 53, 121-135.  Copyright ã 1998 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.

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