Victimization Among Children With Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis.
Chengrui Wu, Qiqi Chen, Ko Ling Chan
✦ AI-curated · Sources linked
In 30 seconds
This meta-analysis examined victimization among children aged 18 years or younger with professionally diagnosed disabilities, compared with non-disabled peers. It included 44 publications covering 1,734,560 children and used random-effects models to estimate pooled odds ratios. Overall, children with disabilities had higher odds of victimization (OR 2.04, 95% CI [1.84, 2.52]). Polyvictimization risk was especially elevated among children with multiple disabilities (OR = 4.17 [2.25, 7.74]) and invisible disabilities (OR = 3.16 [1.76, 5.70]).
Key findings
- Overall victimization odds were higher among children with disabilities than non-disabled peers (OR 2.04, 95% CI [1.84, 2.52]).
- Polyvictimization was associated with multiple disabilities (OR = 4.17 [2.25, 7.74]) and invisible disabilities (OR = 3.16 [1.76, 5.70]).
- Children with multiple disabilities had higher odds of physical violence (OR = 4.07 [2.12, 7.81]).
- Secondary-school children had the highest reported polyvictimization risk (OR = 4.16 [2.83, 6.11]).
Why it matters
The findings indicate that victimization risk is not uniform across children with disabilities, with particularly high estimates for polyvictimization among those with multiple or invisible disabilities. Recognising these differences can inform assessment of violence exposure and the development of prevention approaches attentive to disability type and children’s reports.
What to keep in mind
The authors note definitional inconsistencies and limited representation across regions and populations, which may constrain comparability and generalisability.