Injuries due to family violence involving alcohol, drugs or weapons increased during pandemic stay-at-home months

New research on family violence-related injuries in one urban center will be presented at the 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition

ITASCA, IL – The proportion of family violence-related injuries in youth ages 10-15 that were associated with alcohol, illegal drugs or weapons increased significantly during the pandemic stay-at-home order at one urban Maryland hospital, according to new research.

The study abstract, “Epidemiology of Injuries to 10–15-year-old Adolescents from Family Violence Evaluated in the Pediatric Emergency Department,” will be presented during the virtual American Academy of Pediatrics 2021 National Conference and Exhibition. Researchers found more than half of 819 teens and pre-teens evaluated for a violence-related injury at Johns Hopkins Children's Center reported an event that involved a family member, often a parent, and included child maltreatment and physical fighting.

Researchers identified visits for youth 10-15 years of age who presented to the emergency department for evaluation of an injury due to a violent event involving a family member between January 2019 and December 2020. The pre-pandemic period was defined as January 1, 2019-March 29, 2020, and the pandemic period was March 30, 2020 -Dec. 31, 2020, based on the date of the Maryland stay-at-home order issue.

More than half of patients were female, and nearly 82% of the violence-related injuries occurred in the home.  Most youth were transported to the hospital by police (66.7%). Overall, alcohol, illegal drugs and weapons were involved in 10.0%, 6.5%, and 10.7% of events, respectively, and their involvement significantly increased during the pandemic period (from 7.5%, 4.0%, 6.9% to 18.8% 14.9% and 23.8% respectively.)

The authors suggest that the increased involvement of alcohol, illegal drugs and weapons during imposed stay at-home mandates requires investigation as a contributor to violence-related injuries during adolescence.

The research is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Mattea Miller, abstract author and a medical candidate at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, will present the study abstract at 2:05 pm CT Sunday, Oct. 10. 

Please note: only the abstract is being presented at the meeting. In some cases, the researcher may have more data available to share with media or may be preparing a longer article for submission to a journal. 

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.

ABSTRACT BELOW

Abstract Title: Epidemiology of Injuries to 10–15-year-old Adolescents from Family Violence Evaluated in the Pediatric Emergency Department

Mattea Miller

Baltimore, MD, United States

Sunday, October 10, 2021: 2:05 PM –

Studies of violence on early adolescent youth often focus on peer-assault injuries although the prevalence and circumstances of other violence related injuries are not well delineated. Our objective is to describe the epidemiology of violence-related injuries to 10–15-year-old adolescents from family violence, including child maltreatment and physical fighting, resulting in emergency department (ED) evaluation and treatment with comparison prior to and during the pandemic to understand its impact.

This is a retrospective cohort study in an urban academic pediatric ED and trauma center in the Mid-Atlantic region with an estimated annual census of 35,000 patients. The ED patient population is 60% Black/African American, 21% White/Caucasian, and 10% Hispanic/Latinx; 60% are enrolled in a public medical insurance plan. Using a query of electronic medical records and chart review, we identified visits for youth 10-15 years of age who presented for evaluation of an injury due to a violent event involving a family member between January 2019 and December 2020. The pre-pandemic period was defined as January 1, 2019-March 29, 2020 and the pandemic period was March 30, 2020 -December 31, 2020, based on the date of the Maryland stay-at-home order issue (March 30, 2020). Demographic and clinical data were abstracted, including circumstances of the event. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data and t tests, chi square and Fisher's exact testing were used to evaluate comparisons.

Of 819 youth 10-15 years of age evaluated for a violence-related injury during the overall study period, 448 (54.7%) reported that the event involved a family member. This proportion did not differ significantly between the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods (54.6% vs 54.9%, p=0.99). Most events involved parents/guardians (76.6%) and occurred at home (83.9%). The majority of patients were female (54.0%), Black/African-American (84.4%), and were enrolled in a public insurance plan (71.2%). Most youth were transported to the hospital by police (66.7%). Overall, alcohol, illegal drugs and weapons were involved in 10.0%, 6.5%, and 10.7% of events, respectively, and their involvement significantly increased during the pandemic period (from 10.0%, 6.5%, and 10.7% to 18.8% 14.9% and 23.8%; p≤.001); The most frequently reported weapon was a knife. Most patients received a social work consult (92.0%) and were discharged from the ED (98.7%).

More than half of violence-related injuries in our adolescent population occurred from family violence, including child maltreatment and physical fighting. The increased involvement of alcohol, illegal drugs and weapons during imposed stay at-home mandates requires investigation as a contributor to violence-related injuries during adolescence. Given that exposure to family violence increases an individual's risk for perpetrating violence in their own future relationships, the ED is an appropriate setting to identify at risk youth and initiate preventive interventions.

For release:  12:01 a.m. ET, Friday, October 8, 2021

AAP contact: Lisa Black, 630-626-6084, lblack@aap.org