According to Yu Han-yi, an associate professor of sociology at National Taiwan University, in the big families of the past, there were more people around to help take care of children and protect them. Child abuse was less likely to happen under those conditions. Today's small families, however, live apart from relatives and don't receive so much support.
台大社會系副教授丘余儀指出，大家庭中的孩子有其他人分擔照顧，作為「擋箭牌」，虐待兒童的情況較不容易發生；相對地，小家庭孤立無援，對兒童是比較不利的。