Adolescents in low‐income, marginalized families are vulnerable to behavior problems that impede healthy functioning and threaten long‐term well‐being. Informal supports may fill an important gap for ...these households as they navigate financial and social stressors. Instrumental support from social networks and neighborhood cohesion may promote family stability and youth well‐being; further, these informal supports may promote resilience to housing insecurity, which is linked with a range of adverse adolescent outcomes. The present study utilized data from a large sample of at‐risk families with children (N = 2425) to investigate whether instrumental support and neighborhood cohesion predicted adolescent behavior problems over 10 years and whether these links were mediated by housing insecurity. Results of structural equation modeling with latent variables showed direct links from instrumental support to anxious/depressed behaviors and from neighborhood cohesion to aggressive behaviors, as well as an indirect link from instrumental support to aggressive behavior via housing insecurity. Findings suggest informal supports are an important source of resilience for low‐income families who may be excluded from or are reluctant to engage with formal social systems. Further, stable, connected communities with highly embedded social networks can promote housing stability and youth well‐being in a virtuous cycle.
Highlights
Instrumental support in childhood protects against anxious and depressive behaviors in adolescence.
Neighborhood cohesion in childhood protects against aggressive behaviors in adolescence.
Instrumental support protects against housing insecurity.
Housing insecurity mediates the link from instrumental support to adolescent aggression.
Informal supports are an important source of resilience for low‐income, marginalized families.
Abstract Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including child abuse, have been linked with poor health outcomes in adulthood. The mechanisms that explain these relations are less understood. This ...study assesses whether associations of ACEs and health risks are mediated by adult socioeconomic conditions, and whether these pathways are different for maltreatment than for other types of adversities. Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2012 survey ( N = 29,229), we employ structural equation modeling to (1) estimate associations of the number and type of ACEs with five health risks—depression, obesity, tobacco use, binge drinking, and self-reported sub-optimal health; and (2) assess whether adult socioeconomic conditions—marriage, divorce and separation, educational attainment, income and insurance status—mediate those associations. Findings suggest both direct and indirect associations between ACEs and health risks. At high numbers of ACEs, 15–20% of the association between number of ACEs and adult health risks was attributable to socioeconomic conditions. Associations of three ACEs (exposure to domestic violence, parental divorce, and residing with a person who was incarcerated) with health risks were nearly entirely explained by socioeconomic conditions in adulthood. However, child physical, emotional, and sexual abuse were significantly associated with several adult health risks, beyond the effects of other adversities, and socioeconomic conditions explained only a small portion of these associations. These findings suggest that the pathways to poor adult health differ by types of ACEs, and that childhood abuse is more likely than other adversities to have a direct impact.
Neighbourhood level factors are associated with individual's behaviours but limited empirical research investigate the long‐term changes of neighbourhood factors, especially neighbourhood collective ...efficacy. Moreover, the longitudinal effects of neighbourhood structural factors on neighbourhood process factors worth further research. Thus, the current study examined the (1) the long‐term trajectory of collective efficacy; (2) whether the time‐varying neighbourhood structural factors are associated with collective efficacy over time. Using the four waves of FFCWS data (N = 4898), the current research found that neighbourhood social cohesion and informal social control increased over time, and the changes of neighbourhood structural factors are associated with the changes of collective efficacy over time. Identifying the dynamic changes of neighbourhood factors would benefit the further investigations of the influences of neighbourhood factors on individuals, and the implications of the findings were discussed.
Abstract The way in which parents interact with their environment may have implications for their likelihood of abuse and neglect. This study examines the parent–environment relationship through ...community involvement and perception, using social disorganization theory. We hypothesize mothers who participate in their communities and have positive perceptions of them may be less likely to maltreat their children because of the potential protective capacity of neighborhood supports. Using information from the 5 year Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study ( n = 2991), the mother's self-reported acts of psychological and physical maltreatment and neglect are measured. A mother's community involvement index is the number of community activities a mother was involved in, and community perception is measured by two five-item Likert scales assessing perception of community collective efficacy. We analyze the relationship between community variables and each of mother's maltreatment behaviors as well as the interaction between community factors using a series of nested logistic regressions. Higher levels of community involvement are associated with lower levels of psychological aggression. More positive perception of community social control is associated with lower levels of physical assault. A moderation effect of community perception suggests that a mother's perception of her community changes the relationship between community involvement and psychological child abuse. The results provide important policy and empirical implications to build positive and supportive communities as a protective factor in child maltreatment. Getting parents involved in their communities can improve the environment in which children and families develop, and decrease the likelihood that maltreatment will occur.
Objective
The present study investigated whether risk factors vary by subtypes of child maltreatment investigations, with particular attention to the role of cumulative risks affecting child ...maltreatment.
Background
Building and expanding on prior work finding that the accumulation of risk factors puts children at risk for maltreatment, this work examines child physical abuse and neglect investigations separately.
Method
A sample of 1,181 low‐income families was randomly selected from one state's public assistance caseload. Multinomial logistic regression was used to model risk factors associated with 3 subtypes of investigated child maltreatment reports.
Results
Risk factors for each type of child maltreatment were different. As the number of risk factors families experienced increased, the likelihood of child maltreatment increased across all subtypes of maltreatment. Specifically, families with 5 or more risk factors were at greater risk of maltreatment than families with 2 or fewer risk factors.
Conclusion
The threshold effect of cumulative risks demonstrates that families may be able to tolerate a moderate number of risk factors; however, beyond a certain number of risks, families may not be able to cope adequately with the stress, and the likelihood of maltreating their children dramatically increases.
Implications
To alleviate child maltreatment, prevention programs need to address diverse risks simultaneously, rather than focus on a particular risk factor.
A significant portion of children living in the United States have experienced trauma. Informed by the developmental traumatology model, we explored the effects of physical abuse and witnessing ...intimate partner violence (IPV) on childhood trauma symptoms. This study utilizes a convenience sample of 580 high‐risk children between 3 and 12 years who received services from one‐child advocacy centre during a 12‐month period. We performed a series of binary logistic regression analyses to examine if physical abuse, exposure to IPV, and dual exposure (i.e., both physical abuse and IPV) are distinctly associated with six trauma symptoms, including anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress (PTS), dissociation, anger, and sexual concerns. The results indicated that dual exposure was predictive of all trauma symptoms, except for dissociation. Additionally, physical abuse was associated with PTS, anger, and sexual concerns, whereas exposure to IPV was associated with depression, PTS, and sexual concerns. Research and implications for practitioners working with young children are discussed.
Child maltreatment is a complex problem affecting millions of children in the United States every year. This article examines existing knowledge on the scope, nature, and causes of child abuse and ...neglect. First, we review the discordant definitions and conceptualizations of child maltreatment and consider the implications of broad and narrow definitions for the size and scope of the child welfare system and for child safety. Second, we provide an assessment of the quality and comprehensiveness of existing data for understanding the incidence rates and trends in child abuse and neglect. Third, we review theory and evidence on the causes of child maltreatment, with particular attention to whether and how social policy can reduce its prevalence. Last, we provide recommendations for improving the use of data and scientific evidence in child welfare policy and systems.
Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,870) and cross-lagged path analysis, the authors examined whether spanking at ages 1 and 3 is adversely associated with cognitive ...skills and behavior problems at ages 3 and 5. The authors found spanking at age 1 was associated with a higher level of spanking and externalizing behavior at age 3, and spanking at age 3 was associated with a higher level of internalizing and externalizing behavior at age 5. The associations between spanking at age 1 and behavioral problems at age 5 operated predominantly through ongoing spanking at age 3. The authors did not find an association between spanking at age 1 and cognitive skills at age 3 or 5.
Child care subsidy and child maltreatment Yang, Mi‐Youn; Maguire‐Jack, Kathryn; Showalter, Kathryn ...
Child & family social work,
November 2019, 2019-11-00, 20191101, Volume:
24, Issue:
4
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
This study examined the relationship between receipt of child care subsidies and child maltreatment investigations in a sample of low‐income mothers in Illinois. We expected that receiving child care ...subsidies would have a protective effect on child maltreatment risk and therefore decrease the likelihood of child protective services investigations. Using structural equation modelling, we tested the direct and indirect paths of the receipt of child care subsidies to physical abuse or neglect. We found only direct effects of receiving child care subsidies on both physical abuse and neglect investigations. The findings suggest an important protective role of child care subsidies in the lives of low‐income families.
Abstract Parents interact with their environment in important ways that may impact their ability to parent their children positively. The current study uses data from the age 3 wave of the Fragile ...Families and Child Wellbeing study to investigate whether neighborhood processes and community participation relate to internal control, and whether these three variables are associated with child maltreatment behaviors. Using structural equation modeling, the direct and indirect effects of the environment (neighborhood disorder, social control, and social cohesion) and community participation on child maltreatment are tested. The mediating variable tested is internal control. The results show that neighborhood processes and community participation are associated with child neglect, physical child abuse, and psychological aggression but that these associations are driven through their effect on internal control.
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