Child Maltreatment最新文献

Childhood physical and/or sexual abuse are associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood. Protective factors may contribute to resilience and reduce the risk of these adult health outcomes. This study aims to determine if the presence of a protective adult can mitigate the association between childhood abuse and negative adult health outcomes. Data were obtained from the 2021 and 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n = 83,495). Binary logistic regression was used to compare the odds of health outcomes in adults who experienced abuse before age 18 compared to those who did not, adjusting for the presence of a protective adult and socio-demographic, socioeconomic, and health behavior factors. Childhood physical and/or sexual abuse were associated with higher odds of physical and mental health conditions in adulthood. Adjusting for the presence of a protective adult partially attenuated the odds of many adult health outcomes. Understanding protective factors associated with childhood abuse may improve targeted outreach and provide helpful direction for the development of effective programs for children experiencing abuse.

We examined profiles of young people who have been referred to a state child serving agency concerned with identifying commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSE) in the Northeast of the United States before and since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using comprehensive data from this state child serving agency, our study used latent class analyses and regression analyses to explore changing profiles of young people referred for concerns of CSE since the pandemic. A profile of referred minors whose social settings included CSE-involved people was significantly less common since the onset of the pandemic compared to before the onset of the pandemic. Conversely, a profile of young people with risky online experiences (e.g., sharing sexually explicit media) was significantly more common among CSE referrals since the pandemic began. While extant literature warns of CSE risk in online settings, fewer cases of CSE were identified since the onset of the pandemic. Given the growing importance of online settings and experiences during childhood, supplemental screening practices are needed to better assess the risk of CSE among young people in online settings.

Child maltreatment is a pervasive problem in the United States with significant economic, health, and human capital consequences. Children under age one experience the highest rates of child abuse and neglect and the greatest likelihood of fatality from maltreatment, including shaken baby syndrome. Publicly-funded paid family leave (PFL) programs in the U.S. have been found to improve risk factors for maltreatment including increased parental time investments in children, better maternal and child health, and household income protection in the months surrounding a birth. We examine whether state PFL programs in the U.S. affect infant maltreatment. Using administrative data on child maltreatment reports to Child Protective Services (CPS), we compare reports of infants under age 1 in PFL states to reports of infants in non-PFL states before and after PFL was implemented. We find that PFL reduced reports of infant maltreatment by about 14 percent, and home removals by about 46 percent. We also observe fewer substantiated reports by about 22 percent. These results imply PFL has spillovers to the child welfare system that should be accounted for.

Research on sibling separation in foster care often focuses on cases where all siblings are removed. However, separation can also occur when only some children are placed in care, a scenario that is underexplored. This study investigates: the frequency of partial sibling placements; differences between placed and non-placed siblings, as well as split versus intact sibling groups; and the risk of re-report and future placement for non-placed children in split groups compared to those in intact groups. US child maltreatment report (CMR) and foster care caseload data are accessed from National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System (AFCARS). Sibling groups are assigned based on shared CMR in 2018. At least 27.4% of sibling groups, where at least one child is placed, are split. These groups have wide age ranges between children. Children in split groups left at home are at higher risk of placement than children in non-split groups.

Autistic youth experience disproportionately high rates of child maltreatment and a wide range of other traumatic and stressful events, such as peer victimization. Very little empirical work has evaluated trauma-focused supports for Autistic youth, despite high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related symptoms. The current study is a pilot proof-of-concept evaluation of telehealth-based trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) for Autistic youth (N = 17, ages 10-17) and their caregivers. Youth PTSD symptoms significantly declined from the beginning to end of the program across youth self-report, caregiver report, and clinician interview, and effects were maintained at the 1-month follow-up with large effect sizes. Youth self-reported significant declines in anxiety. Caregivers reported significant improvements in all co-occurring youth mental health symptoms and some caregiver-level outcomes. Youth and caregivers rated the program and telehealth delivery favorably overall. Future larger-scale randomized evaluations of TF-CBT for Autistic youth are needed.

This field study investigated the use and efficacy of main and cued invitations in eliciting forensically relevant information from a national sample of forensic interviews conducted with preschool-aged (2- to 6-year-old) alleged victims of abuse. Among 1065 invitations posed by the interviewers, 43 (4%) were classified as main invitations, while 1022 (96%) were identified as cued invitations. Both subtypes of invitations were equally effective in eliciting event-specific, forensically relevant information from the children. Nearly 70% of main invitations yielded forensically relevant information, compared to 83% for cued invitations. Interviewers typically presented only one invitation before resorting to other prompts, predominantly directive, option-posing, and suggestive questions. The effectiveness of invitations increased significantly when posed later in the interviews, suggesting a decline in children's productive responses as the interview progressed. This study highlights potential barriers to the effective use of invitations and discusses implications for developing tailored training programs for interviewers working with preschool-aged alleged victims.

Studies show the protective power of informal support networks for parents, however, most research in this area is not specific to the child welfare context. With a sample of parents with children involved with the U.S. child welfare system due to substantiated child maltreatment (N = 118), latent profile analyses revealed three distinct profiles of parents' informal support networks including perceived support, received support, and network demands. The profiles were associated with differences in sociodemographic risks, ACEs, and symptoms of depression and stress. Parents with four or more ACEs were more likely to be classified in the very little support profile versus the profile of parents with some support. Parents who had high levels of informal network support and a manageable level of network demands had lower levels of depression and stress compared to parents with very little network support. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

A history of child maltreatment (CM) can lead to poorer perinatal mental health and early parenting outcomes. New fathers who experienced CM may have unique needs that could be addressed with trauma-specific fatherhood programs. This sequential mixed-methods study compares the intervention desires of fathers with and without a history of CM, explores trauma-specific considerations for intervention development, and identifies barriers to participating in perinatal fatherhood programs. We surveyed 371 first-time fathers of young children (birth - 30 months) online. One third (33%, n = 123) had a history of CM, and we interviewed 15 of them. Participants desired basic parenting skills programs with optional trauma-specific add-ons. Trauma-specific topics included managing relationships, sleep, and emotions like low mood, anger, or irritability. Many lacked positive fathering role models and sought connections with other fathers who had experienced CM. Trauma-specific perinatal interventions could support fathers with a history of CM in interrupting the intergenerational transmission of trauma.

In 2016, we summarized the state of trauma-informed care (TIC) in a special issue of Child Maltreatment by concluding that the practice and implementation of TIC had outpaced the conceptualization of and evidence for TIC. In the decade since, interest in TIC has continued to grow in systems, settings, and organizations that serve children and youth. This 10-year update and new special section was intended to identify promising new TIC research and to describe the current state of TIC. The four papers included in this special section were selected based on their clear definitions of TIC, rigorous evaluation, large-scale implementation of TIC, inclusion of youth/family outcomes, and/or their ability to advance the field of TIC research. These papers add to the slowly growing evidence-base for TIC across a range of child-serving settings. However, growth in TIC practice continues to outpace TIC research. Significant questions remain about the benefits of TIC on youth and families, including how to most effectively and efficently conceptualize and operationalize TIC broadly and in specific settings or for specific populations.

This study investigated predictors of reunification and reentry for children in Dutch out-of-home care. Case files of 340 children (aged 0-16) placed out of home in 2018 were coded and analyzed. Potential predictors were identified with bivariate correlations. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to predict the time until reunification, and a logistic regression to predict reentry. Within 6 years of placement, 42% of the children were reunified with their parents - of which 26% reentered out-of-home care. Professional support directed at the parents during placement more than doubled the likelihood of reunification. In contrast, multiple placement shifts, parental history of childhood maltreatment, limited parenting capacities, and parental intellectual disability decreased this likelihood. Among reunified children, parental childhood maltreatment, domestic violence, and placement in group care increased the risk of reentry in out-of-home care. Our findings underscore the importance of targeted professional support during and after the process of reunification.