Discrepancy Between Clinical Suspicion and Legal Outcomes in Suspected Child Abuse: A 10-Year Single-Center Study.

Authors

Hye-Ri Jang, Chloe Jooan Lee, Ju Hyun Back, Eun Young Kim, Jaeso Cho, Hunmin Kim

Published in

Journal of Korean medical science. Volume 41. Issue 40. Pages e338. Oct 19, 2026. Epub Oct 19, 2026.

Abstract

Despite mandatory reporting, many suspected child abuse cases never proceed to formal investigation in Korea. We retrospectively reviewed 83 pediatric patients evaluated for suspected child abuse at a tertiary hospital between 2015 and 2025, screened using the Finding Instrument for Non-accidental Deeds score, and analyzed clinical characteristics, injury severity, and investigative outcomes. The mean age was 4.3 years, and mechanical injury was the most common abuse type (n = 68). Twenty-four patients (28.9%) were severe cases requiring surgery or intensive care or resulting in death. Overall, 33 patients (39.8%) were determined as 'no suspicion,' including 11 of 24 severe cases (45.8%); this proportion decreased from 45.7% to 37.8% after the 2021 policy reform. A critical gap persists between medical recognition of child abuse and the legal response, warranting closer integration of clinical assessment with child protection and investigative systems.

PMID:
42901498
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 21 Oct 2026.

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