Child Maltreatment最新文献

Emotional neglect (EN) is severely underrepresented in child maltreatment research. The current study addressed this gap by estimating the prevalence and psychosocial consequences of EN in a sample of 1,926 low-income women who received home visiting services. Results indicated that 22% to 57% endured EN depending on the operational criteria, exceeding general population estimates. Rates of endorsement differed across racial/ethnic groups, underscoring the need to explore the extent to which prevalence varies along with sampling and measurement approaches. Regression analyses showed that EN was associated with mental health and relationship difficulties in adulthood, including higher depression, anxiety, and PTSD scores; lower levels of social support and relationship satisfaction; and an increased risk of intimate partner violence. Controlling for demographics and other adverse childhood experiences, EN was associated with small but robust effects on adult mental health and social relationships at two time points four years apart. Taken together, the findings confirm EN deserves greater attention from researchers and practitioners.

This study examined interviews with 53 4 to 15-year-old children recanting sexual abuse to determine whether they were forthcoming about potential influences and pressures that could have led them to recant. The great majority (87%) of children mentioned one or more influences or pressures. With respect to influences, about half of children mentioned their positive feelings for the suspect, and about a third mentioned negative consequences for the suspect. About 30% disclosed that their immediate family missed the suspect. About half mentioned concerns about separation from their family, and almost 30% discussed negative consequences for their mother. Pressures from others were mentioned by about half of children. They rarely mentioned pressures from the suspect, but over a third disclosed family pressures, most often the lack of maternal support. Over two-thirds of children described feeling guilty and other internal influences. The results provide preliminary support for questioning recanting children about influences and pressures.

The current study used survey methods to examine initial feasibility and acceptability of a real-world, trauma-informed schools initiative across 15 urban schools and 617 school personnel and classroom teachers. Key indicators included uptake of online asynchronous trauma-informed skills training (TISE) and usage of specific trauma-informed practices by classroom teachers. Approximately 83% of all school personnel completed TISE. Examination of implementation factors revealed organizational health was positively associated with TISE completion, while burnout negatively predicted training completion. Among the subsample of teachers, 76% percent of teachers reported implementing community-building circles, 95% implemented warm and intentional greetings, and 87% implemented mindfulness. For teachers, perceived utility of the practice positively predicted teachers' implementation of all three skills. Access to practice-focused training at their school predicted community circles implementation, and TISE knowledge predicted intentional greeting implementation. Study results highlight the role of organizational culture, practical support, and usable practices in scaling trauma-informed schools initiatives.

Indigenous children in settler-colonial societies have historically been exposed to frequent family separation; yet contemporary family separation through out-of-home-care (OOHC) remains understudied. We analyzed annual OOHC rates among indigenous and non-indigenous children (2010-2023) in four countries: Australia, United States, Denmark, and Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland). Data sources included national child welfare databases and population registers. We computed observed annual rates and generated age-standardized rates using parametric bootstrap approaches with Generalized Additive Models. We found that indigenous children experienced substantially higher OOHC rates across all countries. Annual rates ranged from around 1.5% (US) to around 6% (Australia, Greenland) among indigenous children, versus 0.6-0.9% among non-indigenous children. Risk ratios were highest in Australia (10.1-11.4) and lowest in the US (1.5-1.9). Our findings demonstrate that indigenous children remain disproportionately exposed to OOHC, with substantial cross-national variation in magnitude and age patterns that likely reflects different policy environments and child welfare practices.

Interventions for children at risk for fatal injury have been limited by the lack of systematic methods to detect and classify the circumstances surrounding deaths recorded in unstructured text narratives. To address this gap, we analyzed N = 453 child fatality reports from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (2016-2023). Each report was merged with the 2016-2021 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year estimates by county of death, incorporating county-level indicators of poverty and racial composition to provide sociodemographic context, as well as with report-level metadata on year and county of death. We then applied Natural Language Processing and Structured Topic Modeling, a machine learning algorithm that incorporated both ACS data and report metadata, to identify common themes in the narratives. The model revealed 11 distinct categories that included Severe Traumatic Injury (12%); Homicide due to Parental Neglect (10%); Medical History or Illness (11%); Institutional Negligence (5.3%); Sleep-Related Deaths (12%); Aggravated Assault (11%); Substance Misuse (13.4%); Failure to Supervise (6%); Supervisory Neglect (6%); Drowning (8%); and Firearm-Related Injury (6%). Analysis of temporal and sociodemographic covariates showed that some themes (e.g., Homicide due to Parental Neglect) declined over time, while others (e.g., Substance Misuse) became more prevalent. Counties with higher poverty levels and larger non-White populations showed a greater prevalence of Firearm-Related Injury and Severe Traumatic Injury, while counties with larger non-White populations had lower rates of Drowning and a marginal association with fewer Sleep-Related Deaths. Integrating ACS data and report-level metadata with computational text analysis and machine learning models can generate actionable insights into the circumstances of child deaths, strengthen fatality surveillance, and inform targeted prevention strategies.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois funded the rapid scale-up of a whole-school trauma approach, Resilience Education to Advance Community Healing (REACH). Schools that took part in REACH formed a team, participated in training, completed the Trauma Responsive Schools Implementation Assessment (TRS-IA) and then developed an action plan based on the results of that assessment. The independent, quasi-experimental outcome evaluation of REACH capitalized on natural contrasts between the 950 schools that enrolled in REACH and the 3,035 schools that did not, and REACH schools that attained more versus fewer implementation milestones. Analyses showed that 132 REACH schools with pre/post data significantly improved their scores on all eight dimensions of the TRS-IA. Controlling for school characteristics and baseline levels of outcome variables, we saw that REACH schools were more likely to retain their teachers than were schools that had not enrolled in REACH. REACH schools that were "engaged" had fewer students who were chronically absent than REACH schools that were not engaged. REACH schools that were "very engaged" had fewer out-of- school suspensions than schools that were not engaged. There was no relationship between REACH and school climate. Overall, REACH is a promising whole-school trauma-responsive intervention.

Theories of change in trauma-informed care emphasize the need go beyond individual transformation and act upon the organization-level. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network's Trauma-Informed Organizational Assessment (TIOA), implemented within an implementation framework, is intended to assist with organization-level change. This paper explores properties of the measure, which evaluates 87 practices across nine domains. The TIOA uniquely incorporates the assessment of practices related to race and culture as well as partnerships with youth and families. In a sample of 23 child-serving organizations (N = 1,224), the TIOA demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.93) and good or moderate test-retest reliability. The TIOA was usable by staff in a range of settings and few differences were seen in characteristics such as role in the organization or race. The TIOA provides actionable, organization-level recommendations to help identify strengths and areas for improvement, ultimately supporting environments where staff, children, and families thrive.

The present study examined couples' childhood maltreatment (CM) profiles and their associations with both partners' sexual health over one year. Participants were 885 couples (M_{age =} 31.22) who completed measures of CM (baseline) and sexual satisfaction, distress and function (baseline, 6- and 12-months). Dyadic latent profile analyses yielded five profiles: Partner 1 Neglected, Low CM, Partner 2 Physically Abused, Partner 2 Sexually Abused, and Partner 1 Sexually Abused. Initial levels of sexual satisfaction, distress and function showed the greatest sexual health in Low CM and the worst in Partner 1 Neglected. Decreases in sexual satisfaction were steeper in Partner 1 Sexually Abused than Low CM; sexual distress decreased for Low CM and increased for Partner 1 Neglected and Partner 2 Sexually Abused; decreases in sexual function were steeper in Partner 1 Neglected and Partner 2 Sexually Abused than Low CM. Profiles involving greater CM are associated with worse sexual health.

Identifying proximal and multigenerational distal risk mechanisms through which adversity exposure may shape neuroendocrine dysregulation among children is critical to advancing effective preventive interventions for adversity-exposed individuals. Utilizing longitudinal data (N = 247), the current study examined maternal and offspring history of childhood maltreatment (CM) as predictors of offspring cortisol/DHEA ratios, and, in exploratory analyses, extended this longitudinally to offspring depressive symptoms in young adulthood. Youth (ages 8-13 years) initially attended a research camp, then were followed up approximately eight years later (ages 18-22 years). Maternal history of CM significantly predicted their offspring's childhood cortisol/DHEA ratio over and above the effects of the offspring's history of CM. Offspring CM was not a significant predictor of the ratio. The cortisol/DHEA ratio did not mediate the relationship between maternal history of CM and offspring emerging adulthood depression. Results highlight an intergenerational cascade of CM and negative outcomes and support inclusion of maternal experiences in screening for at-risk youth.