Child Maltreatment最新文献

Evidence suggests that child maltreatment is a risk factor for adolescent suicidal behavior. However, the differential influence of distinct forms of child maltreatment on adolescent suicide attempts is understudied and the factors that might exacerbate or ameliorate these associations warrant attention. We examined the associations between two distinct forms of child maltreatment (threat and deprivation) and suicide attempt history, and investigated whether executive function domains moderated these associations. Participants were 119 adolescents (M = 15.24, SD = 1.46, 72.3% female) recruited from an inpatient psychiatric hospital during hospitalization for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Results indicated that the executive function domains of initiation, shifting, and planning/organization moderated the associations between threat and suicide attempt history. Associations between threat and suicide attempt history were significant only when initiation and shifting T-scores were lower (OR = 1.22, p = .03 and OR = 1.32, p = .01, respectively). The association between threat and suicide attempt history trended toward significance when planning/organization T-scores were lower (OR = 1.15, p = .10). None of the executive function domains moderated the link between deprivation and suicide attempt history. Findings highlight the need for research investigating whether initiation, shifting, and planning/organization might be amendable to intervention in the context of threat-related child maltreatment.

Children tend to answer yes-no questions with unelaborated "yes" and "no" responses, but the types of details likely omitted from unelaborated answers have not been explored. This study examined 379 4- to 12-year-olds' answers to yes-no questions in forensic interviews about CSA (N = 11,187), focusing on age differences in elaborated responses. As expected, older children elaborated more frequently than younger children. Our novel categorization of elaboration types revealed that although there were no age differences in children's use of nominal corrections (correcting a label), or in emphatic negations (giving forceful denials), older children were more likely to give narrative elaborations (providing additional narrative information), wh-elaborations (answering implicit wh-questions), and qualified elaborations (avoiding potentially misleading implications of unelaborated "yes" and "no" responses). The results suggest that children's developing understanding of the implied meaning of questions and responses helps to explain age differences in elaborative responses to yes-no questions.

Little is known about the impact of child welfare system-level factors on child mortality as an outcome within foster care. Using data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, 2009-2018, we examined the associations between county-level sociodemographic, foster care performance, and judicial reform characteristics with all-cause mortality rates. Results of random effects negative binomial regression analyses showed that higher proportions of younger children (<1 year: IRR = 1.06, 95% CI [1.02, 1.11]; 5-9 years: IRR = 1.05, 95% CI [1.01, 1.09]); children of color (i.e., non-Hispanic Asian: IRR = 1.07, 95% CI [1.01, 1.13]; multiracial: IRR = 1.03, 95% CI [1.01, 1.04]; non-Hispanic Black: IRR = 1.02, 95% CI [1.01, 1.02]; Hispanic: IRR = 1.01, 95% CI [1.01, 1.02]); and male children (IRR = 1.10, 95% CI [1.05, 1.15]) were associated with higher mortality risks at the county level. Current class action lawsuits (IRR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.63, 0.99]) and active consent decrees (IRR = 0.77, 95% CI [0.63, 0.94]) were associated with lower mortality risks. None of the foster care performance characteristics (e.g., foster care entry, placement stability, permanency) were associated with mortality risks. These findings have implications for addressing health disparities and reforming foster care systems through programmatic and policy efforts.

This study examined the role of character evidence and other issues in criminal appeals of child sexual abuse (CSA) convictions. Character evidence includes uncharged acts and character witnesses who testify to another's reputation or opinion and is offered to prove an individual's propensities. Examining 168 appellate court opinions reviewing CSA convictions between 2005 and 2015 in Maricopa County, Arizona, we found that when specific types of evidence were at issue, they were most often character evidence issues (49%). However, appellate courts virtually never reversed convictions (n = 5), and when defendants did obtain relief, the reduction in charges or in sentences was minor. Of the small number of opinions that were published (n = 4), all focused on character evidence, including the single case reviewed by the Arizona Supreme Court. However, close examination of the published cases suggested they effected only modest change.

The present study investigates how parenting stress mediates the intergenerational continuity of childhood adversity in teenage mothers. Childhood adversity experiences of caregivers significantly affect their offspring's exposure to childhood adversity. However, little is known about the mechanisms linking childhood adversity across generations. The study measures how parental distress and parent-child dysfunctional interaction mediate the association between teen mothers' childhood adversity and their offspring's adversity, measuring when the offspring reached 11.5 years of age. The results revealed that parental distress, but not parent-child dysfunctional interaction, mediated the association between teen mothers' child abuse and their offspring's household dysfunction. This suggests that parental distress may be a crucial intervention target to prevent the intergenerational continuity of childhood adversity. The findings imply that efforts to prevent the intergenerational continuity of childhood adversity may be more successful if the public and professionals have a broader understanding of the associations between early adversity and parenting contexts. In conclusion, the study shed light on the potential mechanisms underlying the intergenerational continuity of childhood adversity and highlights the importance of targeting parenting stress, specifically parental distress, as an intervention strategy to prevent the perpetuation of childhood adversity across generations.

We examined TikTok user engagement when parents post videos engaging in psychological maltreatment (PM) behaviors towards their children, using the APSAC-endorsed definition of PM. A new TikTok account was created and seeded with PM behavior videos identified previously; similar videos then appeared on the new account's "For You Page" (an algorithmic feed curated by TikTok). Researchers identified 35 creators who had posted at least one PM behavior video, resulting in their full profile being coded (N = 2684 videos) for five engagement metrics, presence of children, and presence of PM behavior. Non-parametric paired comparisons (Mann-Whitney tests) were made within individual creators for: (1) engagement metrics before and after the first PM behavior video, (2) engagement metrics for PM behavior videos versus non-PM videos, (3) engagement metrics for child videos versus non-child videos, and (4) proportion of videos containing children before and after the first PM video. All but one analysis was significant (effect sizes from .28 to .59, average r = .46). We discuss directions for future research, as well as how child welfare and content moderation policy can be updated to change social norms around sharenting.

State responses to substance use during pregnancy have included policies designed to increase access to substance use treatment as well as punish such substance use. Prior research has found that punitive policies are associated with increased rates of child maltreatment reporting, but it is unclear if the presence of punitive-promoting policies also moderate the association between access-promoting polices and maltreatment reports. Using data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and state-level fixed effects models, this study investigates how interactions between access-promoting and punitive prenatal substance use policies are associated with rates of substance use-associated maltreatment reports among infants. In states with punitive policies, access-promoting policies were associated with smaller decreases in these reports than in states without punitive policies. In some cases, access-promoting policies were associated with greater increases in these reports when punitive policies were also present than when only one type of policy was adopted. Interactions between prenatal substance use policies may result in unintended and counterproductive consequences for maternal and child health and the child welfare system.

Reports of child maltreatment vary by neighborhood characteristics, yet the influence of housing affordability is less understood. The current study examines the relationship between reports of suspected child maltreatment and the spatial distribution of affordable housing across 2,341 census tracts in Los Angeles County, California. Bayesian conditionally autoregressive model results indicate that neighborhoods where residents paid a greater share of their income in rent had fewer reports of suspected child maltreatment, while neighborhoods with a higher number of subsidized rental units had more reports. These findings suggest that higher cost neighborhoods provide supportive resources and amenities to families which may reduce risk of child maltreatment. Subsidized housing units are more likely to be located in high poverty, under resourced neighborhoods, thus undermining the benefits of these programs to families. These findings have implications for equitable housing policy that promotes inclusive communities as a primary prevention strategy for child maltreatment.

The Multidisciplinary Pediatric Education and Evaluation Consortium (MPEEC) is a medically directed program that mandates real-time interagency collaboration among child abuse pediatricians (CAPs), child protective services (CPS) investigators, and law enforcement. MPEEC provides consultation resulting in a definitive medical opinion regarding manner of injury when allegations of serious harm involving children less than three years old living in Chicago are reported to Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). This study is the first to link data from a medically directed, inter-agency program with CPS investigations data to specifically examine the duration of CPS investigations and the level of concordance between the manner of injury as determined by CAPs and the investigation's outcome when CPS investigators and medical professionals are required to formally collaborate. On average, MPEEC produced a written opinion 16 days from the time of referral and DCFS made a finding 45 days after receiving the MPEEC report for the 690 cases referred to MPEEC over a 3-year period. The concordance level ranged from 75-90%. Our results highlight the need for more analysis of linked data to promote efficiency and proficiency in CPS investigations.

It is critical that researchers gather evidence of factors that identify infants at risk of out-of-home placement based on types of substance exposures and demographic characteristics. This study applied a validated medical record data extraction tool on data derived from a multi-site (N = 30) pediatric clinical trials network (ISPCTN) study of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal (ACT NOW study). Participants included 1808 birthing parent-infant dyads with documented NOWS scoring or prenatal opioid exposure. Non-Hispanic White pregnant persons comprised the largest proportion of the sample (69.8%), followed by Non-Hispanic Black (11.6%), Non-Hispanic Multiracial and Other race (8.5%), and Hispanic (6.2%). Most notably, infant prenatal substance exposure across alcohol, cocaine, meth/amphetamine, and opioids, had the lowest possibility of discharging to parent(s). Additionally, latent class analysis identified distinct classes of substance use during pregnancy that were associated with different probabilities of discharging to parent(s). Specifically, less than half of infants (47%-49%) in the Poly-use and Meth/amphetamine classes were discharged to their parent(s). Severity of infant withdrawal symptoms influenced placement decisions within the Poly-use and Prescription Opioid classes. Findings can inform standard practices for increasing support for pregnant persons and substance-exposed infants including identification, subsequent referrals, communication with Child Protective Services, and plans of safe care.