Child Abuse & Neglect最新文献

Background

Parental adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) contribute to offspring adversity and poor health outcomes, but little is known about whether and to what extent parental positive childhood experiences (PCEs) influence offspring positive experiences and well-being.

Objective

To investigate the association between parent and child ACEs and PCEs and their impact on child well-being and psychopathology.

Participants and setting

A national sample of n = 1016 US parents of 1–5-year-olds completed online surveys in September 2019.

Methods

Mediation analysis in a path modeling framework was used with stratified probability weights for generalizability to the US population.

Results

Each additional parent PCE equated to 0.32 (95 % CI: 0.20, 0.45) increase in child PCEs and each additional parent ACE equated to 0.18 (95 % CI: 0.06, 0.31) increase in child PCEs and 0.13 (95 % CI: 0.08, 0.18) increase in child ACEs. In turn, an increase in 1 child PCE was associated with 0.10–0.16 SD increase in well-being and 0.06–0.10 decrease in psychopathology, and each additional child ACE equated to 0.10–0.18 SD increase in psychopathology.

Conclusions

Results support the intergenerational transmission of PCEs and ACEs, advancing understanding of the role that parent PCEs play in promoting child PCEs and fostering child well-being. Findings underscore the importance of extending clinical surveillance of ACEs to include PCEs in pediatric and adult healthcare settings. Dual-generation programs that address the negative consequences of parental ACEs may be able to increase their impact by adding a parallel emphasis on PCEs and providing parents with tools to foster PCEs in their children.

Background

While cumulative childhood maltreatment (CM) has been linked to psychopathological outcomes, recent studies point to the relevance of the type and timing of exposure. The aim of the current study was to better understand their importance beyond the cumulative burden of CM for psychopathological symptoms in middle childhood.

Methods

A total of N = 341 children (M = 9.92, SD = 1.51) were interviewed to assess trauma load (UCLA - University of California at Los Angeles Event List), exposure to CM (pediMACE - Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure - Pediatric Interview) and different outcomes of psychopathology (UCLA Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index, Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). We employed conditioned random forest regression, incorporating type, timing, and cumulative indicators of CM, to assess the importance of each predictor simultaneously.

Results

Exposure to CM (abuse, neglect and cumulative indicators) exhibited a robust association with psychopathological outcomes. Recent abuse and recent neglect showed most robust associations with outcomes, neglect was stronger related to internalizing problems and timing of exposure showed clear associations with diverse pathological outcomes.

Conclusion

Beyond the cumulative burden, type and timing of CM show direct and diverse associations to pathological outcomes in middle childhood. Our results highlight the critical importance of early and detailed identification of CM, particularly recent exposure. This finding is valuable for researchers and clinicians, as it can refine diagnostic assessments and pave the way for effective early intervention strategies for affected children.

Background

Previous scholarship has illustrated the pernicious role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in self-reported mental health, namely depressive and anxiety-related symptoms. Given these insights, highlighting protective factors that may diminish the magnitude of this relationship is important. The present study explored the moderating role of perceived control on the relationship between ACEs and depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively.

Methods

Participants consisted of a US-based non-clinical sample of 567 undergraduate students who completed a battery of surveys related to psychological wellbeing and individual differences. A series of hierarchical linear regression analyses were utilized for hypothesis testing.

Results

Consistent with our main hypotheses, perceived control moderated the relationship between ACEs and both anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. Namely, at low levels of perceived control, ACEs were associated with significantly greater levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms, respectively. However, for those reporting high levels of perceived control, we found no association between ACEs and self-reported symptoms.

Conclusion

We offer evidence that perceived control may serve as a protective factor for mental health and wellbeing against the influence of adverse childhood experiences.

Background

Skeletal surveys (SS) are recommended for the evaluation of suspected physical abuse in children <2 years old. No guidelines exist for SS completion in children between 2 and 5 years old.

Objective

To determine rates of SS completion by age and examine variables associated with occult fracture identification in older children.

Participants and Setting.

Observational cross-sectional multi-center study of 10 US pediatric centers 2/2021–9/2022 including children <6 years old evaluated for physical child abuse.

Methods

The principal outcome is occult fracture identified on SS. Non-parametric tests were conducted from comparison between age groups and those with and without occult fractures.

Results

The rate of SS completion declined with increasing age from a high of 91 % in infants <6 months old to 7 % in children 5–5.9 years old. The proportion of SS with occult fractures also decreased with age. Of 450 children 2–5 years old with a SS, 20 [4 % (95 % CI: 3–8 %)] had an occult fracture. The rate of occult fractures among children 2–5 years old who were diagnosed with abuse and not admitted to the hospital was 0.3 % (95 % CI 0–0.6 %)]. Over 30 % of children 2–5 years old were diagnosed with child abuse by a child abuse pediatrician without completion of a SS.

Conclusion

In children 2–5 years of age being evaluated for physical abuse, use of SS and the rate of occult fractures is low. The number of SS performed in children in this age group could potentially be decreased by up to 60 % by limiting SS to children admitted to the hospital.

Background

Most child homicides are committed by a perpetrator who has a maternal or paternal relationship with their victim which is commonly referred to as filicide. Previous research has examined differences in how maternal and paternal perpetrators are discussed in the media but there is a paucity of research comparing the treatment of maternal and paternal perpetrators in the criminal justice system.

Objective

The goal of this study is to examine whether criminal justice outcomes vary for male and female perpetrators of filicide.

Participants and setting

This study examines 298 cases of filicide between 1985 and 2018 in Ontario, Canada.

Methods

Bivariate and multivariate analyses are used to compare charges, convictions, conviction types, sentence types, and sentence lengths imposed on maternal and paternal filicide perpetrators.

Results

Results show that maternal perpetrators are less likely to be convicted (Odds = 0.279, p < 0.01), less likely to be convicted of murder (Odds = 0.364, p < 0.01), less likely to receive a prison sentence (Odds = 0.087, p < 0.01), and receive sentences that are shorter on average (B = −2.183, p < 0.001) compared to paternal perpetrators.

Conclusions

Future research should examine how criminal justice actors weigh and consider the motives and broader social and structural factors that may lead to filicide when determining criminal justice outcomes. An integrated social role and medicalization framework may allow researchers to develop a better understanding of these results.

Background

Children living in foster care as teenagers often experience greater economic insecurity during adulthood than their peers. However, few studies examine the association between foster care entrance during early adolescence and later economic outcomes.

Objective

Examine whether entrance into foster care in early adolescence is associated with employment, monthly earnings, and participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) relative to an observationally similar counterfactual population.

Participants and setting

Using statewide administrative data from Wisconsin, I limited my study population to early adolescents exposed to alleged maltreatment between ages 10 through 13 who return to the home or achieve permanency by age 18. Economic security outcomes were examined at age 23.

Methods

Propensity score matching generated a counterfactual group that was similar to children who entered foster care (N = 1252). Odds of employment and SNAP usage were modeled with logistic regressions, while earnings were estimated with zero-inflated negative binomial regressions.

Results

On average, foster care entrance was not associated with later economic difficulties. Among children who entered foster care, longer stays predicted elevated likelihood of employment (OR 1.18, 95 % CI 1.04, 1.33), while more placements within foster care were associated with greater odds of receiving SNAP (OR = 1.38, 95 % CI 1.01, 1.90).

Conclusion

Overall, entrance into foster care during early adolescence was not associated with earnings, employment, or SNAP participation relative to the matched sample.

Background

Bullying among adolescents is a significant public health concern worldwide. While child maltreatment (CM) is a known risk factor, few studies explore whether abused adolescents become bullies or victims and how CM affects day-to-day bullying/victimization. Existing research often uses cross-sectional and longitudinal designs with long intervals, failing to capture the dynamic nature of adolescence and bullying behaviors.

Objective

Based on personality solidification theory, the study used a weekly diary method to examine the relationship between adolescents' CM and weekly bullying/victimization, as well as the mediating mechanisms of the Big Five personality traits.

Participants and setting

452 students (167 girls, M_age = 12.90, SD_age = 0.48) from a junior high school in southern China participated in a 7-week diary study.

Methods

After participants finished all questionnaires, multilevel models were constructed to analyze weekly diary data.

Results

The findings indicated that CM positively predicted adolescents' weekly bullying/victimization, both directly and indirectly, through personality traits. Specifically, CM predicted weekly bullying through openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, while it also forecasted weekly victimization through neuroticism.

Conclusions

CM had long-term adverse effects on adolescents' day-to-day bullying and victimization through the solidification of personality, which may provide significant theoretical and empirical foundations for the prevention of bullying in schools.

Background

Young people who were in out-of-home care (OHC) face an accelerated transition to independent adulthood. Current evidence on outcomes for Australian care-leavers is scant.

Objective

This study aims to develop a better understanding of the outcomes for young people leaving care.

Participants and setting

A birth cohort of children and young people born in Western Australia (WA) from 1993 to 2008. Three groups were identified and compared: young people with care-experience (OHC Cohort), those with child protection involvement but not care experience (CP Contact Cohort), and peers in the general population (No Contact Cohort).

Methods

This is a retrospective, population-based study utilising de-identified, linked administrative records provided by the WA state government agencies. Data from the three cohorts were compared through descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, and logistic regression modelling.

Results

The birth cohort contained records for 414,266 individuals. The smallest comparison group in this study was the OHC Cohort (n = 6526), followed by the CP Contact Cohort (n = 78,095), and the No Contact Cohort (n = 329,645). Care-experienced young people in WA fared significantly worse than their peers across the domains of health (physical and mental), disability, education, social housing and criminal justice involvement.

Conclusions

Those who have had child protection involvement, but have not been placed in care, had better outcomes than those who had been in care. However, their outcomes were still poorer than the population cohort with no child protection contact.

Background

Child maltreatment survivors with extensive foster care involvement are tasked with building identities that allow them to make sense of difficult pasts in ways that help them build adult lives.

Objective

To use narrative identity theory to explore identities and identity-building challenges of young adults formerly in foster care.

Participants and setting

Twelve young adults who aged out of the foster care system in Illinois.

Methods

Participants were interviewed three times with semi-structured protocols that focused on their life stories and the meanings derived from them. Data were analyzed using an adapted grounded theory approach.

Results

Many participants forged resistance identities around a fierce sense of agency, motivated to not be another foster care statistic or like their parents. Challenges to identity construction included the scarcity of trusted audiences willing to listen fully to their life stories, missing information about key events, and the senselessness of maltreatment experiences. College and work opportunities provided normative contexts and new audiences where identities shifted, but often at the cost of not revealing their histories, limiting social relations. Temporal coherence was evident in most life stories. Causal and global coherence was more difficult to achieve.

Conclusions

Intervention efforts designed to provide willing and helpful audiences for narrative formation work may help young people from foster care find meaning in their pasts that help them forge identities that promote satisfying and successful adult lives. Narrative identity theory may benefit from greater engagement with theories of oppression and marginalization.