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Although the abuse and neglect of children is often perpetrated by close relatives, the role of genetic factors in the vulnerability to child victimization has been overlooked. In a large population-based Finnish sample (N = 13024), we examined retrospective reports of child victimization, and we estimated the extent of their genetic and environmental risk factors. In particular, we investigated whether the extent of these factors varied as a function of the type of child victimization, the genetic relatedness with the perpetrator, as well as the sex of the victim. We identified common etiological pathways underlying multiple types of child victimization, and, after accounting for this common etiology, we singled out risk factors specific to sexual abuse. Also, genetic and environmental factors were found to influence the risk of victimization by genetically related and unrelated perpetrators to a different extent. Furthermore, we estimated differences between females and males in the etiology of child victimization, including sex-limited genetic effects. These findings are of importance to child protection as they contribute to explaining why certain forms of child victimization might co-occur. Moreover, these findings illustrate how the impact of genetic and environmental risk factors may depend on personal characteristics of the victim and the perpetrator.
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