Understanding the risk factors for child maltreatment is critical to efforts to reduce its prevalence.
This study investigated the association between characteristics and circumstances of mothers ...during pregnancy and the subsequent identification of concerns about child maltreatment.
The study drew on two data sets: (i) data from questionnaires administered to the expectant mothers of 11,332 children born in a deprived multi-ethnic local authority in England between 2007 and 2011, for a birth cohort study, and (ii) administrative data on children referred to child welfare services.
The linkage of these two pre-existing data sets enabled the prospective study of risk factors for child maltreatment.
A range of factors captured during the antenatal period were associated with an increased likelihood of subsequent recorded child maltreatment concerns, including: younger maternal age (HR=0.96; p < .001), lower maternal education level (HR=1.36; p < .001), maternal mental illness (HR=1.17; p = .001), maternal smoking in pregnancy (HR=1.69; p < .001), single motherhood (HR=1.41; p = .022), larger family size (HR=1.13; p < .001), multiple deprivation (HR=1.01; p = .011), social housing (HR=1.72; p < .001), paternal unemployment (HR=1.79; p < .001), and the receipt of means-tested welfare benefits (HR=1.43; p < .001). A greater total number of risk factors during pregnancy also increased the risk of subsequent maltreatment concerns (HR=1.45; p < .001).
The identification of multiple risk factors in this study supports claims that single targeted interventions are unlikely to be successful in preventing or reducing child maltreatment due to its multifactorial nature, and that multidimensional interventions are required.
Child maltreatment is a significant public health issue in the United States. Understanding key risk factors for child maltreatment is critical to informing effective prevention. Poverty is an ...established risk factor for child maltreatment. However, recent research indicates that material hardship (i.e., difficulties meeting basic needs) may serve as a more direct measure of the way in which poverty affects daily life. One form of material hardship that is common among families is housing stress. Previous reviews have summarized the existing literature regarding the association of economic insecurity with child maltreatment, but no reviews have synthesized and critically evaluated the literature specific to the association of various types of housing stress with child maltreatment. We conducted a systematic search of multiple electronic databases to identify peer-reviewed studies conducted in the U.S. regarding the association of housing stress with child maltreatment. We identified 21 articles that used nine distinct measures of housing stress including homelessness or eviction, homeless or emergency shelter stays, foreclosure filing, housing instability, inadequate housing, physical housing risk, living doubled-up, housing unaffordability, and composite housing stress indicators. Overall, results from this body of literature indicate that housing stress is associated with an increased likelihood of caregiver or child self-reported maltreatment, child protective services (CPS) reports, investigated and substantiated CPS reports, out-of-home placements, and maltreatment death. Additional theory-driven research is needed to further our understanding of the contribution of specific types of housing stress to risk for specific types of maltreatment.
Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) is a syndrome that can occur after right- and left-hemisphere damage. It is generally accepted that left-sided USN is more severe than right-sided USN. Evidence for ...such a difference in other domains is lacking. Primary aims were to compare frequency, severity, region specificity, cognition, physical functioning, and physical independence between left and right USN. Secondary aims were to compare lesion characteristics. A total of 335 stroke patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation were included. The severity of the lateralized attentional deficit was measured with a shape cancellation and line bisection test (in peripersonal and extrapersonal space) and the Catherine Bergego scale. The Mini-Mental State Examination, Stichting Afasie Nederland score, search organization (i.e., best R and intersections rate), Motricity Index, balance, mobility, and self-care were assessed. Measures were statistically compared between left, right, and no USN patients. Lesion overlay plots were compared with lesion subtraction analyses. Results: Left USN (15.82%) was more frequent than right USN (9.25%). Demographic and stroke characteristics were comparable between groups. The lateralized attentional deficit was most severe in left USN. USN in both peripersonal and extrapersonal space was more frequently left-sided in nature. Search efficiency was lower in left USN. Balance was poorer in right USN. No differences between left and right USN were found for cognitive ability, communication, motor strength, mobility, and self-care. Most patients with left USN had right-hemispheric lesions, whereas patients with right USN could have lesions in either the left or the right hemisphere. To conclude, left and right USN are both common after stroke. Although the lateralized attention deficit is worse in left than in right USN, consequences at the level of physical functioning and physical independence are largely comparable. From a clinical perspective, it is important to systematically screen for USN, both after right- and after left-hemisphere damage.
The present analysis relies upon data from three separate longitudinal studies to identify risk and protective factors associated with subsequent neglect during early childhood. All three studies ...(Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing FFCW; Healthy Families New York HFNY; Illinois Families Study-Child Wellbeing IFS) involve probabilistic samples or subsamples of low-income families with young children. Multivariate logistic regressions predicting official reports of investigated neglect allegations and a dichotomous indicator of neglect from the Parent–child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS-PC) were conducted separately for each study, using common sets of predictors derived from baseline or initial survey waves. Across the three studies, consistencies emerged with respect to the predictors of both neglect outcomes. Specifically, consistencies emerged related to indicators of economic resources and hardships, parent well-being, and parenting. Understanding the predictors of child neglect is of critical importance to the development of child maltreatment prevention strategies since a clearer understanding of the risk and protective factors associated with neglect would enable more effectively targeted and tailored interventions.
► Prospective studies of child neglect are lacking. ► This hinders an understanding of predictors of child neglect. ► Three longitudinal studies are used to compare predictors of neglect outcomes. ► Consistencies emerge around economic, well-being, and parenting predictors.
In human-computer interactions, higher-level visuospatial function is likely needed to effectively use the interface. The aim of this study is to clarify whether individuals with visuospatial defects ...can use electronic devices effectively. We quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed the ability of seven individuals with Bálint syndrome and seven individuals with left-unilateral spatial neglect (USN) to input a digit sequence into a flat touch interface. Control groups consisted of seven individuals with memory deficits and 11 healthy individuals. Participants with Bálint syndrome took longer and had more hesitations than the USN group and the two control groups to input numerical sequences (Steel-Dwass test, p < .01). In addition, participants with Bálint syndrome had a high percentage of hesitations for exploration of the button array on the interface relative to USN and the memory deficit group (Fisher's exact test, p < .05). Regarding neuropsychological data, participants with Bálint syndrome had a lower score for visuospatial working memory than participants with USN and the memory deficits control group (Steel-Dwass test, p < .01). The results shed some light on the relation between visuospatial working memory deficits and the spatial perception of interface layouts and spatial control during electronic device operation.
Background: Child maltreatment is a major public problem, associated with enormous consequences on the individual and socioeconomic level. Studies show a clear impact of child maltreatment on ...long-term physical health. However, there is a lack of analyses comprising a wide variety of subtypes of maltreatment and addressing cumulative effects of different maltreatment subtypes experienced during childhood on physical health.
Objective: The objective of this analysis was to assess the association of different subtypes and the intensity of child maltreatment with long-term physical health outcomes.
Methods: In a cross-sectional observational approach, a representative sample of the
German population (N=2510) was assessed regarding socioeconomic information, their current health status, and their experiences of child maltreatment using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Chi
2
-Tests were performed to compare differences of physical health conditions in adulthood in association with child maltreatment and binary regression analyses to assess the relationship of physical health and number of different subtypes of maltreatment experienced during childhood.
Results: Odds increased significantly for obesity (1.8), diabetes (1.26), cancer (1.28), hypertension (1.16), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.51), history of myocardial infarction (1.29) and stroke (1.31) with increasing number of experienced subtypes of child maltreatment. Growing intensity of each subtype of maltreatment was associated with higher rates of all assessed physical health conditions, which could point towards a dose-dependency of the relationship between maltreatment and long-term physical health.
Conclusions: Child maltreatment is associated with increased odds for the leading morbidity and mortality causes in Germany. Interventions encompassing secondary and primary preventive strategies are critical to target this major public health problem and its devastating consequences.
Abstract Background Few studies have examined the associations between childhood sexual abuse (CSA), co-occurrence with other types of maltreatment and adult mental health outcomes, specifically ...among males. The objectives of this study were to: 1) determine the prevalence of males who have experienced a) childhood maltreatment without CSA; b) CSA without other forms of childhood maltreatment; and c) CSA along with other forms of childhood maltreatment; and 2) determine the relationship between CSA among males and mood, anxiety, substance and personality disorders and suicide attempts. Methods Data were drawn from the 2004–2005 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) and limited to males age 20 years old and older ( n = 14,564). Child maltreatment included harsh physical punishment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV). Results Emotional abuse, physical abuse, and exposure to IPV were the most common forms of maltreatment that co-occurred with CSA among males. A history of CSA only, and CSA co-occurring with other types of child maltreatment, resulted in higher odds for many mental disorders and suicide attempts compared to a history of child maltreatment without CSA. Conclusions Child maltreatment is associated with increased odds of mental disorders among males. Larger effects were noted for many mental disorders and suicide attempts for males who experienced CSA with or without other child maltreatment types compared to those who did not experience CSA. These results are important for understanding the significant long-term effects of CSA among males.
Physical punishment of children is an important public health concern. Yet, few studies have examined how physical punishment is related to other types of child maltreatment and violence across the ...lifespan. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to examine if harsh physical punishment (i.e., being pushed, grabbed, shoved, hit, and/or slapped without causing marks, bruises, or injury) is associated with an increased likelihood of more severe childhood maltreatment (i.e., physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, and exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV)) in childhood and perpetration or victimization of IPV in adulthood.
Data were drawn from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions collected in 2004 to 2005 (n = 34,402, response rate = 86.7%), a representative United States adult sample.
Harsh physical punishment was associated with increased odds of childhood maltreatment, including emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, and exposure to IPV after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, family history of dysfunction, and other child maltreatment types (range 1.6 to 26.6). Harsh physical punishment was also related to increased odds of experiencing IPV in adulthood (range 1.4 to 1.7).
It is important for parents and professionals working with children to be aware that pushing, grabbing, shoving, hitting, or slapping children may increase the likelihood of emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, and exposure to IPV in childhood and also experiencing IPV victimization and/or perpetration in later adulthood.
Purpose: This paper presents a re-analysis of the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data presented by Briggs et al. (2022). Methods: We review five components of that article: The ...aims, variables, analytic strategy, analysis, and conclusions. Results: We conclude that several of the NCANDS variables used are invalid at the national level, and that this is sufficient to call the research into question. We find concerning issues in analytic strategy and analysis as well, many stemming from a failure to account for the serious underreporting of services in NCANDS, and the wide variability in data quality and consistency across states. We also found what we consider to be issues with their statistical analysis. Discussion: The reanalysis presented in this article shows no pattern of disparate within Child Protective Services (CPS) outcomes by race and, therefore, no support for the Briggs et al. claim of pervasive anti-Black racism within the CPS system.
The purpose of this research was to further examine the distinction between work ethic and grit, including their relative importance in explaining work engagement and retention. With the onset of the ...“great resignation”, many organizations have increased their focus on fostering worker engagement and retention, underscoring the importance of understanding variables that facilitate positive work outcomes. In this research, 250 participants from the United States were recruited to examine the relationship between individual differences in work ethic and grit on job satisfaction, work stress, and behavioral responses to dissatisfaction at work. Work ethic and grit were found to be related, but distinct constructs, consistent with prior research. Compared with grit, work ethic was found to explain more unique variance in job satisfaction, turnover intentions, exit, voice, and loyalty. In contrast, grit was found to explain more unique variance in work stress and neglect. Study implications, including employee retention and engagement, as well as limitations and future directions are discussed.
•Work ethic and grit were empirically distinct, although positively related.•Work ethic explained unique variance in job satisfaction and turnover intentions.•Work ethic was associated with lower exit and increased voice and loyalty.•Grit was associated with reduced time stress, anxiety, and neglect.
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