Trends in child maltreatment literature

INTRODUCTION: To identify possible gaps in the child maltreatment literature the present study examined the development of the child maltreatment literature over a 22-year period, including temporal trends for child maltreatment types, the characteristics of the research participants, and sources of participant recruitment. METHOD: Child maltreatment articles (N=2090) published from 1977 to 1998 (inclusive) in six specialty journals were coded on type of article, type of child maltreatment, gender and parental status of participants, abuse role of participants, and recruitment source of participants. RESULTS: Across the period studied the annual percentage of quantitative articles (articles with inferential statistics) increased, whereas the annual percentage of theoretical articles decreased. The annual percentage of articles examining child physical abuse (CPA) decreased, whereas the annual percentage of articles examining child sexual abuse (CSA) increased. The percentages of articles examining child neglect (CN) or child emotional abuse (CEA) remained consistently low. Distinguishing child maltreatment types in research articles increased. Males were underrepresented in CPA perpetration and CPA adult victimization articles, but adequately represented in CSA perpetration and CPA child victimization articles. Females were adequately represented in CPA perpetration and CSA child and adult victimization articles. Recruitment from universities and outpatient mental health facilities increased; recruitment from medical settings decreased. CONCLUSIONS: CN and CEA literatures need to be developed first by theoretical, then by quantitative works. In addition, the publication of more research on male subjects for CPA perpetration and adult CPA victimization is needed.     

Trends in child maltreatment in the US Army, 1975-1997.

OBJECTIVE: To examine trends by year in reports of victims of child maltreatment in the US Army Central Registry (ACR) during the period 1975-97. We report the rates/1,000 children of Army families of initial substantiated cases from 1988-97 and the number of cases of maltreatment as a percentage of total victims for each year from 1975-97. Army data are compared to published reports from military service child abuse registries. METHODS: Numbers of cases of child maltreatment for each year were obtained from the ACR for major, minor, and total physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Population figures for numbers of children were obtained from the Defense Manpower Data Center. RESULTS: The rates/1,000 for neglect have decreased by 24% from 1991-97, although the decrease has not been steady. The rates/1,000 of minor physical abuse declined 28% from 1993-97. The rates/1,000 of major physical abuse were basically unchanged from 1988-96, although the highest rate was recorded in 1997. The rates/1,000 of sexual abuse were also basically unchanged with the exception of increases in 1992-94 after which time the rates/1,000 returned to the pre-1992 levels. The rates/1,000 of emotional abuse cases more than doubled from 1988-97. CONCLUSIONS: While minor physical abuse and neglect have shown decreases over the past decade, major physical abuse has remained virtually unchanged and sexual and emotional abuse have shown fluctuations. All these forms of maltreatment are challenges to the Army Family Advocacy Program.     

Trends in gender differences in mathematics and science (TIMSS 1995–2003)

This article investigates changes in gender differences evident in the performance of grade 8th grade students participating in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) between 1995 and 2003. Gender specific results and patterns found in TIMSS 1995 were compared with later cycles of the study in order to address the question of how far the mathematics and science gender gap has narrowed over time. Using a regression approach to compare the trend data, the findings indicated no major changes for mathematics but it appears that the gap in science may be closing, especially in the previously male dominated content areas of chemistry and physics.     

Emotional maltreatment in Canada: prevalence, reporting and child welfare responses (CIS2)

Objectives

To determine the prevalence and characteristics of reports of emotional maltreatment (EMT) in Canada, as well as changes in these reports between 1998 and 2003.

Methods

This study is based on a secondary analysis of data collected in the first and second Canadian Incidence Study. Emotional maltreatment (excluding exposure to intimate partner violence) investigations were categorized into six groups: emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and other maltreatment as the only investigated form of maltreatment, and these same three groups were examined when they co-occurred with another form of maltreatment.

Results

Both the rate of emotional-abuse-only investigations and emotional-neglect-only investigations increased almost threefold from 1998 to 2003. Substantiated emotional neglect investigations had the highest rate of transfer to ongoing services. Half of the investigations involving single forms of emotional maltreatment occurred for six months or more. Finally, emotional neglect cases (in single form and when it co-occurs with another form of maltreatment) were more likely to be associated with emotional harm and longer duration of maltreatment.

Conclusions

In 2003, EMT represented a significant increasing form of maltreatment and is detected nearly twice as often in situations in which abuse or neglect are also reported. Reports of emotional abuse are two and a half times more frequent than reports of emotional neglect. Nevertheless, lack of emotional engagement may also be difficult to identify, since an omission is more difficult to detect. Reports of EMT often reveal situations of chronic victimization that have been the subject of previous reports and are associated with greater emotional impact.     

Deciding on child maltreatment: A literature review on methods that improve decision-making

Assessment and decision-making in child maltreatment cases is difficult. Practitioners face many uncertainties and obstacles during their assessment and decision-making process. Research exhibits shortcomings in this decision-making process. The purpose of this literature review is to identify and discuss methods to overcome these shortcomings. We conducted a systematic review of the published literature on decision-making using PsychINFO and MEDLINE from 2000 through May 2014. We included reviews and quantitative research studies that investigated methods aimed at improving professional decision-making on child abuse and neglect in child welfare and child protection. Although many researchers have published articles on decision-making including ideas and theories to improve professional decision-making, empirical research on these improvements is scarce. Available studies have shown promising results. Structured decision-making has created a greater child-centred and holistic approach that takes the child's family and environment into account, which has made practitioners work more systematically and improved the analysis of complex situations. However, this approach has not improved inter-rater agreement on decisions made. Shared decision-making may improve the participation of parents and children and the quality of decisions by taking client treatment preferences into account in addition to scientific evidence and clinical experience. A number of interesting developments appear in recent research literature; however, child welfare and child protection must find additional inspiration from other areas, e.g., mental health services, because research on decision-making processes in child welfare and child protection is still rare.     

Bias in child maltreatment self-reports using interactive voice response (IVR)

Few methods estimate the prevalence of child maltreatment in the general population due to concerns about socially desirable responding and mandated reporting laws. Innovative methods, such as interactive voice response (IVR), may obtain better estimates that address these concerns. This study examined the utility of interactive voice response (IVR) for child maltreatment behaviors by assessing differences between respondents who completed and did not complete a survey using IVR technology. A mixed-mode telephone survey was conducted in English and Spanish in 50 cities in California during 2009. Caregivers (n = 3,023) self-reported abusive and neglectful parenting behaviors for a focal child under the age of 13 using computer-assisted telephone interviewing and IVR. We used hierarchical generalized linear models to compare survey completion by caregivers nested within cities for the full sample and age-specific ranges. For demographic characteristics, caregivers born in the United States were more likely to complete the survey when controlling for covariates. Parenting stress, provision of physical needs, and provision of supervisory needs were not associated with survey completion in the full multivariate model. For caregivers of children 0–4 years (n = 838), those reporting they could often or always hear their child from another room had a higher likelihood of survey completion. The findings suggest IVR could prove to be useful for future surveys that aim to estimate abusive and/or neglectful parenting behaviors given the limited bias observed for demographic characteristics and problematic parenting behaviors. Further research should expand upon its utility to advance estimation rates.     

How neighborhoods influence child maltreatment: a review of the literature and alternative pathways

OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on the relationships between neighborhoods and child maltreatment and identify future directions for research in this area. METHOD: A search of electronic databases and a survey of experts yielded a list of 25 studies on the influence of geographically defined neighborhoods on child maltreatment. These studies were then critically reviewed by an interdisciplinary research team. RESULTS: Numerous studies demonstrate that child maltreatment cases are concentrated in disadvantaged areas. A number of socio-economic characteristics of neighborhoods have been shown to correlate with child maltreatment rates as measured by official reports to child protective service agencies. Only a few studies examine direct measures of parenting behaviors associated with maltreatment, and these show a weaker relationship with neighborhood disadvantage. Moreover, the processes that link neighborhood conditions to either maltreatment reports or parenting behaviors are not yet confirmed by the research literature. Selection bias, neighborhood definitions and spatial influences are largely uncontrolled in the existing research. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a framework for pursuing further study of neighborhoods and child maltreatment that addresses the gaps in the current literature. Neighborhood-based strategies to prevent and reduce child maltreatment will be enhanced by research that provides a better understanding of how neighborhood conditions act as stressors or supports for families at risk of child maltreatment.     

Race,ethnicity, and child maltreatment: An empirical analysis

Using central registry data for Texas for 1975–1977 of validated cases of abuse and of neglect, a study was conducted to investigate empirically the relationship of child maltreatment to ethnicity, addressing methodological issues that merit consideration in such studies.The ethnic composition of the at-risk population was 61% Anglos, 15% Blacks, and 24% Mexican-Americans. The annual rates for all abuse and neglect were 2.87, 3.17, and 3.94 per 1,000 under 18 population for Anglos, Mexican-Americans, and Blacks, respectively. Abuse was more predominant among Anglos, accounting for 33.5% of the validated cases of maltreatment, than among Mexican-Americans and Blacks, accounting for 25.2% and 29.4% of the maltreatment, respectively. Neglect was the major dynamic of maltreatment for Mexican-Americans and Blacks, accounting for 65.6% and 61.2% of the maltreatment, respectively, with Anglos having 55.4% of the maltreatment due to neglect. These relationships were not altered when rural-urban differences were taken into consideration.     

‘Yes,but . . .’: rhetoric,reality and resistance in teaching assistants' experiences of inclusive education

This research examines the role of teaching assistants (TAs) working with children with special educational needs (SEN) in an increasingly complex and diverse context. The role of the TA has been given more attention recently, partly due to the increased focus on their effectiveness within an inclusive education system in a time of workforce reform. The research takes a life history approach to examining the experiences of TAs within inclusive contexts and focuses upon how their backgrounds impact upon their role within the classroom, as well as how their experiences demonstrate ambiguity, tension and contradictions. Rather than a focus on pupil and institutional outcomes, the article analyses the tensions between the policy and institutional frameworks of inclusion and how TAs experience this. TAs' contradictions, tensions, resistance and also pleasures within their work are explored from their own perspectives. The personal interpretations, understandings and day‐to‐day implementation of inclusion are the focus.     

Resilience in child maltreatment victims: a conceptual exploration

While many child maltreatment victims suffer serious negative emotional sequelae, others do surprisingly well. Resilience in children is a relative concept which can change over time and is affected by environment and genetics. Resilience is fostered by protective factors which ameliorate or alter a child's response to the hazards of maltreatment that usually predispose to maladaptive outcome. Personal characteristics or skills that may foster resilience include (1) rapid responsivity to danger; (2) precocious maturity; (3) dissociation of affect; (4) information seeking; (5) formation and utilization of relationships for survival; (6) positive projective anticipation; (7) decisive risk taking; (8) the conviction of being loved; (9) idealization of an aggressor's competence; (10) cognitive restructuring of painful experiences; (11) altruism; and (12) optimism and hope. There are also generic life circumstances, such as having access to good health, educational, and social welfare services, that foster resilience in children regardless of the specific nature of the stressor. Additionally, there may be abuse-specific protective factors in the environment. Examples might include the quick and full acknowledgment of an offender regarding abuse, or timeliness and permanence of legal actions affecting a child's custody. The life stories of three well-known survivors of various forms of child maltreatment illustrate how protective factors contribute to resilience. A caution is noted regarding how personal characteristics developed for survival may become maladaptive if overused and/or not given up when the stressor no longer exists. Characterological problems are most likely to develop when a child's life circumstances fail to change and the environment never becomes secure.     

The utility and challenges of using ICD codes in child maltreatment research: A review of existing literature

ObjectiveThe objectives of this article are to explore the extent to which the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) has been used in child abuse research, to describe how the ICD system has been applied, and to assess factors affecting the reliability of ICD coded data in child abuse research.MethodsPubMed, CINAHL, PsychInfo and Google Scholar were searched for peer reviewed articles written since 1989 that used ICD as the classification system to identify cases and research child abuse using health databases. Snowballing strategies were also employed by searching the bibliographies of retrieved references to identify relevant associated articles. The papers identified through the search were independently screened by two authors for inclusion, resulting in 47 studies selected for the review. Due to heterogeneity of studies meta-analysis was not performed.ResultsThis paper highlights both utility and limitations of ICD coded data. ICD codes have been widely used to conduct research into child maltreatment in health data systems. The codes appear to be used primarily to determine child maltreatment patterns within identified diagnoses or to identify child maltreatment cases for research.ConclusionsA significant impediment to the use of ICD codes in child maltreatment research is the under ascertainment of child maltreatment by using coded data alone. This is most clearly identified and, to some degree, quantified, in research where data linkage is used.Practice implicationsThe importance of improved child maltreatment identification will assist in identifying risk factors and creating programs that can prevent and treat child maltreatment and assist in meeting reporting obligations under the CRC.     

Intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment: Predictors of child emotional maltreatment among 11 to 17 years old children residing in communities of Karachi,Pakistan

ObjectiveFamilies where parents had childhood history of victimization may likely to abuse their children; hence contributing as an important predictor of child emotional maltreatment (CEM). This study aimed to determine the relationship of intergenerational abuse with CEM among 11–17 years old children residing in peri-urban and urban communities of Karachi, Pakistan.MethodStructured interviews were conducted with 800 children and parents-pair using validated questionnaire “International Child Abuse Screening Tool for Child (ICAST-C)” comprised of 4 domains. Domain of child emotional maltreatment was considered as outcome (CEM-score). The relationship between Parental history of childhood victimization and CEM-Score was measured using linear regression.ResultsThe average CEM-score was came to be 19+5.2 among children whom parental history of childhood victimization was present (P < 0.001). The estimated mean CEM-score increased by 5.59 units (95% CI= {2.61, 8.51}) among children whom parents had a history of childhood victimization (Intergenerational abuse) with severe physical familial abuse.ConclusionThe current study provided evidence on intergenerational transmission of maltreatment suggesting early prevention to break the cycle of child maltreatment through generations. Preventive measures can be taken, once a parental history of childhood victimization has been identified, by providing appropriate services to those families who belong to lower socioeconomic status, where mothers are young, presence of siblings’ rivalry/ bullying and/or violence among family members. However, these factors do not explain a complete causality of the intergenerational transmission therefore additional factors, for instance parenting styles must be taken into consideration.