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Screening for disability-related child maltreatment

Pediatric Research volume 98, pages 1636–1637 (2025)Cite this article

Impact

  • Disability-related child maltreatment is not well defined or understood but should be part of systematic pediatric screening practices.

  • Disability-related child maltreatment can be operationalized by these four domains: (1) Denial or manipulation of assistive technology; (2) Denial or undermining of care, assistance, or access; (3) Intentional worsening of disability-related function; (4) Engaging disability as a means to invoke harm.

  • More research on disability-related maltreatment is needed to understand the unique and overlapping contributions these experiences may have in relation to other forms of child maltreatment.

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Fig. 1

References

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Funding

The authors have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose. Funds from Ewha Woman’s University helped support Lund’s work on this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Joy Gabrielli, Amanda Bennett & Jiyung S. Kim

  2. Department of Educational Studies in Psychology, Research Methodology, and Counseling, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

    Emily Lund

  3. College of Education, Ewha Woman’s University, Seoul, South Korea

    Emily Lund

Authors
  1. Joy Gabrielli
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  2. Amanda Bennett
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  3. Jiyung S. Kim
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  4. Emily Lund
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Contributions

Gabrielli and Lund conceptualized and defined the constructs described in the manuscript, drafted the initial manuscript, and reviewed and revised the manuscript. Amanda Bennett and Jiyoung Kim contributed to, reviewed, and revised the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Joy Gabrielli.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Gabrielli, J., Bennett, A., Kim, J.S. et al. Screening for disability-related child maltreatment. Pediatr Res 98, 1636–1637 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-03982-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-03982-6

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