Child abuse and pediatric social illness: an epidemiological analysis and ecological reformulation.

Children under four years of age hospitalized for child abuse, domestic accidents, failure to thrive, and ingestions were matched with controls admitted for comparably acute medical conditions. A structured parental interview yielded significant case-control differences. Discriminant analysis suggested interrelationships among the case groups and cluster analysis identified three cohesive groups in terms of severity of symptoms. This reformulation provides a matrix for organizing data and an alternative to the present manifestational classification system.