John Leventhal
Department of Pediatrics
john.leventhal@yale.edu

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Research
My research interests have focused on abused, neglected, and sexually abused children. Previous research has examined: (1) perinatal risk factors for child maltreatment, such as young maternal age or prematurity, (2) the epidemiology of sexual abuse, and (3) criteria to distinguish accidental injuries from child abuse. Because much of the research in the area of child maltreatment has not been rigorously designed, we have tried to pay attention to important methodological issues in our studies.

Some of the current research projects include a comparison of the rates of child maltreatment in infants whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy vs. infants whose mothers did not use drugs during pregnancy, a comparison of child abuse cases evaluated at Yale-New Haven Hospital in the 1960s and 1990s, and an examination of mental health services used by sexually abused children.