Behavior: Hard Times for Kids Too

A New Orleans man who had just lost his job slammed his baby against a wall until it lost consciousness. An Atlanta real estate agent, under severe stress when his commissions dropped drastically, lost his temper and beat his five-year-old daughter so severely she had to be hospitalized. Such incidents suggest that economic strain is an increasingly important factor in child abuse. Says Jerry White, director of protection services for the Georgia human resources department: "It's a consequence of the economic crisis that people do not think about."

To be sure, the figures...

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