Child Maltreatment最新文献

There is a dearth of research examining repeat human trafficking victimization among children involved with the child welfare system (i.e., single system involvement) and children involved with both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems (i.e., dual system involvement). This study uses longitudinal statewide linked administrative data from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) and Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to investigate both initial and subsequent verified human trafficking allegations among single and dual system-involved children. We conducted logistic regression models to identify youth characteristics, prior DCF experiences, and prior DJJ experiences that predict initial and subsequent trafficking victimization. We also conducted survival analysis to identify time until human trafficking victimization and revictimization. Prior maltreatment, placement history, missing child events, referral without adjudication, community supervision, and residential facility placement predict initial trafficking victimization. These same indicators predict revictimization, except for prior placement history, residential facility commitment, prior physical abuse and prior sexual abuse. Approximately 1 in 5 child victims experience trafficking revictimization; the median time between initial and subsequent revictimization is about 6 months. This research has implications for policy and practice among system-involved children at greatest risk for human trafficking revictimization.

The purpose of this study is to explore the association between material hardship and child maltreatment, mediated by social cohesion. We used three waves (age three, age five, and age nine) from Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCW), a longitudinal cohort study of approximately 5000 families in 20 U.S. cities. The sample size was 2402. The independent variable was material hardship, and the dependent variable was child maltreatment (physical/psychological abuse and neglect). Using a multiple regression analysis, the current study found a positive association between material hardship and frequency of physical/psychological abuse. Social cohesion was found to mediate the relationship between material hardship and physical/psychological abuse among financially secure mothers in the Sobel test, which assesses the presence of indirect effects of the independent variable on the dependent variable. These findings suggest that material hardship mitigation and social cohesion enhancement are potential strategies to prevent physical/psychological abuse.

The current study aimed to examine the extent to which neighborhood structural factors commonly found to be associated with child maltreatment in urban areas also apply to rural areas. Using three years of administrative child welfare data, we examined patterns of child maltreatment across metro and nonmetro census tracts in the State of Michigan. Extending from social disorganization theory, a principal components factor analysis was conducted to determine the extent to which neighborhood structural factors (neighborhood economic disadvantage, residential instability, and childcare burden) that have been tested in relation to child maltreatment in urban areas cluster together similarly in rural areas. Spatial analysis and negative binomial regression were used to examine: (1) the extent to which these three factors were related to child maltreatment substantiation rates in nonmetro census tracts; and (2) factors hypothesized to have unique impacts within nonmetro tracts, including seasonal housing and racial demographics of neighborhoods. Findings showed some similarities between metro and nonmetro areas, including associations of neighborhood poverty, single-parent households, and vacant housing units with increased levels of child maltreatment. Differences between metro and nonmetro areas were also identified, suggesting the need for additional research into the neighborhood correlates of rural child maltreatment.

The topics of psychological maltreatment by teachers and children's cyberbullying perpetration have both attracted increasing research attention. However, clarification of the development and specific psychological mechanisms linking psychological maltreatment by teachers to cyberbullying perpetration by students remains necessary. Thus, this study examined the longitudinal relations between psychological maltreatment by teachers and subsequent cyberbullying perpetration, along with the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of sex. A total of 5563 Chinese elementary school students (56% boys; M_age = 9.92 years, SD = 0.74) completed self-report measures on 5 occasions across 2.5 years. Latent growth curve mediation modeling was applied to examine the longitudinal relations among the variables. Results showed that (a) Psychological maltreatment by teachers was positively associated with subsequent cyberbullying perpetration; (b) The developmental trajectory of psychological maltreatment by teachers was indirectly associated with the developmental trajectory of cyberbullying perpetration through the mediating role of self-esteem; (c) Sex moderated the relations among psychological maltreatment by teachers, self-esteem and cyberbullying perpetration among children such that self-esteem mediated the relation between psychological maltreatment by teachers and cyberbullying perpetration for boys but not girls. Implications for the prevention of psychological maltreatment by teachers and cyberbullying perpetration were discussed.

Emergency department (ED) utilization for preventable reasons by patients with foster care history is unexplored. Medical records of ED encounters from primary care patients were pulled from a southwestern children's hospital system. Necessity of ED encounter was categorized using the New York University- ED Algorithm into emergent, intermediate, or non-emergent. Associations were explored at the encounter- and patient-level. Partial proportional logistic models generated odds of preventable (i.e., intermediate or nonemergent) ED utilization among encounters, and Poisson models determined incidence of preventable ED use at the patient level. Findings suggested that when a patient with history in foster care used the ED, the odds that it was preventable were lower than if the child did not have such experience. Further, patients with foster care history were less likely to use the ED for concerns that did not need immediate attention but were more likely to use the ED for intermediate reasons.

Childhood adversity (CA) is associated with increased risk of negative health outcomes. Research implicates brain structure following CA as a key mechanism of this risk, and recent models suggest different forms of adversity differentially impact neural structure as a function of development (accelerated or attenuated development). Employing the Dimensional Model of Adversity and Psychopathology, we examined whether deprivation and threat differentially impact age-related change in cortical thickness, cortical surface area, and subcortical structure volume, using whole-brain and region of interest analyses (N = 135). In youth without CA, age predicted less surface area across adolescence, consistent with normative data. However, for adolescents with more deprivation exposure, as age increased there was attenuated surface area decreases in the orbitofrontal and superior-parietal cortex, regions recruited for higher-order cognition. Further, for those with more threat exposure, as age increased surface area increased in the inferior-temporal and parietal cortex, regions recruited in socio-emotional tasks. These novel findings extend work examining the impact of dimensions of adversity at a single-age and broaden current conceptualizations of how adversity might impact developmental timing.

Limited research describes approaches for applying a public health lens to fatal child maltreatment classification. Specialized terminology and tools could help improve consistency in classifying deaths resulting from caregiver behavior. A six-criterion classification tool was developed via expert panel review of over 100 child deaths by the Alaska Division of Public Health's Child Death Review (CDR) program. Next, accuracy and acceptability were assessed by inviting staff from other CDRs using a national listserv to classify 21 brief case scenarios with the tool. Among the 47 respondents, sensitivity was 0.87, specificity 0.77, and accuracy 0.84. Variability by tool criterion ranged from 97% to 74% accurate. Most respondents (66%) reported the tool as being helpful for classifying deaths and moderate reliability was found. Study participants found it difficult to consistently apply specific criteria which resulted in a modification of the tool to improve the potential for universal adoption.

Childhood exposure to domestic violence (CEDV) poses significant risks to children's safety and wellbeing, yet its prevalence and impact on child protection outcomes remains understudied. This study examined administrative data for child protection investigations in Los Angeles County, California between January 2018 and March 2021 to determine the prevalence of CEDV safety concerns, associated case characteristics, and child protection outcomes (case openings and foster care placements). Results indicated that 5.9% of investigations had CEDV concerns and CEDV investigations represented 17.9% of placements. Investigations with CEDV concerns had higher co-occurring indicated safety concerns than investigations without, including substance abuse (31.1%) and mental health (14.2%). Investigation outcomes for those with CEDV concerns included the substantiation of more than one individual (36.6%), while 28.4% resulted in case openings (without placement) and 30.2% resulted in placements. The study underscores the importance of moving beyond punitive frameworks and exploring the use evidence-based service planning to address the complex needs of families affected by CEDV.

Research suggests that the dimensions of childhood maltreatment (type, age of onset, duration, frequency and perpetrator) play an important role in determining health and wellbeing outcomes, though little information is available on these dimensions for any care experienced cohorts. This study aimed to determine if any variation in maltreatment dimensions were experienced between two subsets of the nationally representative Australian Child Maltreatment Study, both of which reported childhood maltreatment histories: care-experienced (n = 358) and non-care-experienced (n = 4922). Using a series of independent t-tests and chi-square tests, we compared the two groups on seven dimensions (number of maltreatment types, range of maltreatment items, age of onset, duration, frequency, perpetrator number, and perpetrator type) for the five child maltreatment types (physical, emotional, sexual abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence). Results showed that the care-experienced group reported a higher intensity of maltreatment, being younger when maltreatment first started, experiencing greater variety of maltreatment types, for longer periods, more times and by more perpetrators than maltreated people with no care experience. We conclude that children and young people in out-of-home care experience maltreatment at a higher intensity than the rest of the population, which has implications for effective treatment.

Earlier reviews to discover research on interventions for children after neglect have concluded little was available, despite the well-documented prevalence and harmful effects of neglect on children. We revisited this question through a systematic literature review to discover the state of research on interventions for children who have experienced neglect. We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, ERIC, Sociological Abstracts and EMBASE for studies published between 2003 and 2021. Studies were included if neglect could be distinguished, and child outcomes reported. Eight reports describing six studies about six interventions were identified. These studies differed in interventions, age-groups, definitions of neglect, and outcomes. Four studies reported positive child outcomes though with varying degree of quality. More research is needed to inform a coherent theory of change following neglect. There remains an urgent need for research on interventions to help children recover from neglect.