Children’s sexual behavior problems: An ecological model using the LONGSCAN data

BackgroundAlthough prior research has indicated that sexual behavior problems (SBPs) are present among maltreated and non-maltreated children, risk factors for SBPs remain understudied. Further, few studies have examined multiple forms of trauma such as exposure to community violence and several likely important familial and environmental factors have yet to be investigated in the context of SBPs. The use of a more comprehensive ecological model of child, trauma-related, family, and environmental risk factors may help to further delineate the factors that contribute to the development of SBPs.ObjectiveThe aim of the current study was to build upon previous research by utilizing an ecological model that includes child, trauma-related, caregiver and familial, and environmental factors as potential predictors of SBPs.Participants and SettingThe present study was conducted with 1,112 8-year-old children (51.6% female; 48.9% Black) and their primary caregivers from the Longitudinal Studies in Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) study.ResultsSeveral child, caregiver, and familial factors, as well as sexual and physical abuse demonstrated bivariate associations with SBPs. A number of these factors remained significant in a regression model, such as child’s living arrangement, child’s aggressive behaviors and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), sexual and physical abuse, caregiver’s psychological difficulties, and children’s perceptions of family health.ConclusionsThe findings highlight the role of select child, trauma-related, caregiver and familial, and environmental factors in the context of SBPs and also demonstrate the need to examine multiple levels of children’s environments when investigating SBPs.     

Society,individual, family,and school factors contributing to child mental health in war: The ecological-theory perspective

Mental health problems are common in war-affected areas, but children have different levels of vulnerability. Based on ecological theory (Bronfenbrenner, 2005), this study analyses how factors related to the child (cognitive capacity), their family (parental depression and parenting styles), and their school (teachers’ practices and peer relations) mediate the association between traumatic stress (traumatic war experiences and stressful life-events) and child mental health (posttraumatic stress and psychological distress symptoms). The participants were 303 Palestinian children (51.2% girls) of 10–13 years (M = 10.94 ± 0.50) and their parents from the Gaza Strip. The children filled in questionnaires during school classes and the parents did so at their homes. The results of structural equation modeling substantiated the hypothesis that parental depression, poor parenting and low-quality peer relations mediated between traumatic stress and children’s mental health problems. Contrary to the hypothesis, child-related factors did not mediate that association. To conclude, parents and peers provide important age-salient social resources for children in war conditions, and psychosocial interventions should therefore enhance their beneficial functions.