Science / Medicine : Child Violence Injures 1 in 130

One in every 130 children require hospital care each year for injuries resulting from fights, suicide attempts and other intentional acts of violence, a study found.

The study, based on Massachusetts data gathered a decade ago, found that such harm is relatively common, especially among city dwellers and poor people.

Overall, 85% of the intentional injuries resulted from assaults, such as fights, rape and battering.

The analysis was conducted by Dr. Bernard Guyer and colleagues from Harvard School of Public Health and Boston University School of Medicine. It was conducted in 1979 to 1982 in 14 Massachusetts communities and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

One in 42 adolescent boys was treated annually for an assault-related injury, usually resulting from a fight. Boys were almost twice as likely as girls to seek care for intentional injuries. One exception was suicide attempts, which were nearly twice as frequent among girls.