Child maltreatment in young adults with residential youth care background: Prevalence and post-placement trends

Abstract

Background

Young adults with residential youth care (RYC) background have often endured various forms of child maltreatment, impacting education, employment, health, mortality, and quality of life. There is limited research on the onset and duration of exposure to maltreatment before placement, as well as the prevalence of maltreatment occurring after children have been placed into out-of-home care.

Objective

This study aims to investigate: (1) The sex-specific prevalence and age chronology of self-reported exposure to child maltreatment, and (2) whether the rate of these maltreatment forms differ between the year before and after first out-of-home placement by the Child Welfare Service.

Participants and setting

This study is a part of VINGO, a Norwegian nation-wide 10-year follow-up examining the health and welfare of 157 (107 females) adults with RYC background.

Methods

The Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure Scale was administered as an online questionnaire, and mean scores and percentages of maltreatment forms were compared. Differences between groups were examined using t-tests and Pearson's Chi-Squared test.

Results

Most participants, 154 of 157 (98 %), reported at least one form of child maltreatment. Females reported higher rates of sexual abuse than males (53 % vs. 22 %, p < .001). No other sex differences were found. A majority of participants (63 %) reported decreased maltreatment rates post-placement, while 37 % had stable or increasing rates.

Conclusions

Young adults with RYC background report high child maltreatment rates. Although out-of-home care provides protection, further development and improvement of initiatives aimed at reducing the risk of revictimization is likely needed.