Examining 19 years of officially reported child abduction incidents (1995–2013): employing a four category typology of abduction

Abstract

Child abduction has generated extensive media attention due to deep-seated fear elicited by infamous incidents. Perceptions of an abduction epidemic during the 1970s and 80s entrenched a perception of ‘stranger danger’. Limited research on child abduction overemphasizes stranger abductions, which account for fewer than half of all abductions. As a result, less is known about the victim/abductor relationship across other abduction types. Prior work has emphasized simplistic stranger vs. family dichotomies, and similar trichotomies. This study, drawing on officially reported child abductions employing NIBRS datasets (N = 29,293), emphasizes differences across abductors/victims in a four category relationship-based typology, including a newer category – ‘intimate partner abductions’. Findings contribute baseline knowledge about child abductions by countering misplaced media driven fears and placing empirical findings in a more accurate context. Findings also reveal that intimate partner abductions have a unique victim/offender/incident profile and are the most serious and most consequential to adolescent female victims.

Keywords:

• Child abduction
• intimate partner abduction
• abduction typology
• NIBRS

Acknowledgement

The opinions expressed herein are solely the authors’ and do not reflect the opinions or official position of any other individuals or organizations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. NIBRS definition of Abduction – the unlawful seizure, transportation, and/or detention of a person against his/her will, or of a minor without the consent of his/her custodial parent(s) or legal guardian.

2. The states and subsequently counties participating in NIBRS data reporting have steadily increased since its 1989 implementation. From 9 states comprising 481 counties (4% of the population) in 1995 to 32 states and DC comprising 7799 agencies in 2012, the increasing annual participation by states and counties in the NIBRS reporting program presents difficulties for longitudinal pattern and trend analyses. The present work uses the NIBRS data in the aggregate and is therefore less impacted by annual changes in participation.