Kids may suffer in gap between haves and have-nots

By Kathleen Raven NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In U.S. counties where personal incomes cluster on opposite sides of the rich and poor spectrum, children might endure more neglect and abuse, according to a new U.S. study. Based on the analysis of data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, the effect appears strongest in counties with high poverty. It’s not possible to say income inequality actually causes child maltreatment, but, “we know the reverse hypothesis is not true,” John Eckenrode said. “Child maltreatment does not cause income inequality.” Ekenrode, a psychologist at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, led the study.