The Impact of Housing Instability on Child Maltreatment: A Causal Investigation

Longitudinal Impacts of Housing Cost Burden on Physical and Psychological Aggression of Children From Age 3 to 15

Housing cost burden is stressful for families, interfering with healthy, positive parenting. The present study uses data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the relationship between housing cost burden and aggressive parenting with children age 3 to age 15. Latent growth curve modeling finds that both types of aggressive parenting behaviors decline on average, but that housing cost burden contributes to significant ongoing risk. Results indicate within-time associations between housing cost burden and psychological aggression and associations both within- and across-time between housing cost burden and physical aggression. Housing cost burden poses a significant risk factor for families, and child maltreatment prevention approaches must incorporate strategies for addressing housing cost burden.

Maternal, prenatal and postnatal risk factors for early child physical abuse: a French nationwide cohort study

Background

Identifying risk factors for early child physical abuse (CPA) is crucial for understanding its mechanisms and defining effective preventive interventions. We aimed to identify maternal, prenatal and postnatal factors associated with early CPA.

Methods

This cohort study was based on comprehensive data from the Mother-Child EPI-MERES nationwide register and included all infants born alive in France between 2010 and 2019. Factors associated with early CPA (before age 1) were identified with a multilevel Cox regression model with random intercepts at the regional level.

Findings

Among the 6,897,384 included infants, 2994 (40/100,000) had a diagnosis of early CPA, at a median age of 4 months. Independent factors most strongly associated with early CPA were maternal low financial resources (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.91; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.67-2.18), maternal age <20 years versus 35-40 years (aHR 7.06; 95% CI 6.00-8.31), maternal alcohol use disorder (aHR 1.85; 95% CI 1.48-2.31), opioid use disorder (aHR 1.90; 95% CI 1.41-2.56), intimate partner violence (aHR 3.33; 95% CI 2.76-4.01), diagnosis of a chronic mental disorder (aHR 1.50; 95% CI 1.14-1.97) or somatic disorder (aHR 1.55; 95% CI 1.32-1.83), hospitalisation for a mental disorder (aHR 1.88; 95% CI 1.49-2.36), very preterm birth (aHR 2.15; 95% CI 1.68-2.75), and diagnosis of a chronic severe neurocognitive disorder in the infant (aHR 14.37; 95% CI 11.85-17.44).

Interpretation

Independent risk factors of early CPA identified at the national level in France may help in understanding CPA mechanisms and developing effective prevention programs including risk-stratification tools to optimise the allocation of parenting interventions to parents who could most benefit from them.

Funding

Ile-de-France regional council, L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women In Science France Young Talent Award, French National Observatory for Child Protection [ONPE], French Association of Ambulatory Paediatrics [AFPA], HUGO university hospitals network, Mustela Foundation and Sauver la Vie prizes.

Are Home Evictions Associated with Child Welfare System Involvement? Empirical Evidence from National Eviction Records and Child Protective Services Data

This study aimed to understand the relationship between home eviction and child welfare system involvement at the county level. Using administrative data, we examined associations of home eviction and eviction filing rates with child abuse and neglect (CAN) reports and foster care entries. We found one additional eviction per 100 renter-occupied homes in a county was associated with a 1.3% increase in the rate of CAN reports and a 1.6% increase in foster care entries. The association between eviction and foster care entries was strongest among Hispanic children with an 8.1% increase. Assisting parents in providing stable housing may reduce the risk of child welfare system involvement, including out-of-home child placement. Primary and secondary prevention strategies could include housing assistance, increasing access to affordable and safe housing, as well as providing economic support for families (e.g., tax credits, childcare subsidies) that reduce parental financial burden to access stable housing.

Emerging adult college students' descriptions of exposure to childhood emotional abuse and associated factors: A qualitative exploration

BACKGROUND

Growing evidence on the long-term deleterious impacts of emotional abuse highlights the need to further understand childhood emotional abuse and its context to strengthen prevention efforts.

OBJECTIVE

To describe emerging adults' experiences of emotional abuse in their childhoods and the household context surrounding that abuse.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Fifty-eight interviews were conducted with emerging adults, ages 18-25, recruited from four 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education.

METHODS

Thematic analysis was conducted to identify and describe patterns in the data. A cyclical approach to codebook development and data analysis was followed by a team of four coders.

RESULTS

Themes related to participants' experiences of emotional abuse included: inability to meet parent expectations; parent attacks on the child's character; parent negative comparisons to siblings and others; parent invalidation of the child's emotions and mental health needs; and evolution over time in the parent-child relationship. Aspects of childhood family environments contemporaneous with the childhood emotional abuse included: financial stress; parent mental illness; parent divorce, separation, or volatile relationship; parent adversity or trauma; physical abuse; and young parent age. Many participants identified these aspects of their family environment, most of which could potentially be improved with sufficient support, as playing causal roles in the emotional abuse they experienced.

CONCLUSION

This descriptive qualitative study provides additional insight into child emotional abuse and its associated factors, providing invaluable insights that can enhance current measurement and intervention approaches.

Material hardship in the postpartum year: Links to child maltreatment

BACKGROUND

Millions of mothers with young children in the U.S. struggle to afford basic needs. Material hardships such as inadequate food, housing, and medical care increase risk for child maltreatment as mothers face heightened physical and emotional strain.

OBJECTIVE

The present study applied a person-centered approach to understand unique subtypes of material hardship experienced by at-risk mothers in the postpartum year, and links from hardship subtypes to subsequent child maltreatment.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The sample included at-risk mothers who gave birth in one of 20 large American cities 1998-2000 and retained custody of their children at age 1 and 3 (N = 3966).

METHOD

Latent class analysis (LCA) identified subtypes of material hardship; mean maltreatment scores were estimated across classes.

RESULTS

LCA identified four hardship subtypes with differential risks for maltreatment. Compared to "Stable" mothers, "Cost-Burdened" mothers - who displayed high levels of missed rent and utility payments - were significantly more likely to psychological abuse (χ2 = 5.04, p < 0.05) or neglect (χ2 = 4.46, p < 0.05) their children. "Severely Housing Insecure Mothers" - characterized by elevated rates of doubling up, eviction, and homelessness - were significantly more likely to engage in physical assault (χ2 = 16.25, p < 0.001), psychological aggression (χ2 = 11.15, p < 0.01), and neglect (χ2 = 17.55, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Difficulty maintaining stable and affordable housing is associated with elevated risk of child maltreatment. Efforts to prevent child maltreatment must incorporate access to housing screening and supports, particularly among families with infants.

Neighborhoods and child abuse: Multiple informant perspectives

INTRODUCTION

Using data from the nationally representative longitudinal Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the current study sought to examine associations between neighborhood disorder and physical characteristics of the neighborhood at child age three with the likelihood of experiencing physical and psychological abuse and neglect at age five.

METHODS

Negative binomial regression and zero inflated negative binomial regression models were used to estimate the associations.

RESULTS

Resident perceptions of neighborhood disorder and outside observation of neighborhood physical characteristics were both found to be independently related to the likelihood of physical assault. Resident perceptions were related to psychological aggression. A more positive perception of the neighborhood environment for children (lack of neighborhood disorder) and physical characteristics of the neighborhood were protective against maltreatment. These relationships were not significant for neglect.

DISCUSSION

Neighborhood environment is a crucial contributor to maltreatment risk. Findings from the present study showed that multiple perceptions of neighborhood quality were associated with lower risk for child physical assault and psychological aggression. Mothers' perceptions of a more positive neighborhood environment were associated with significantly lower physical assault and psychological aggression scores.

Child Maltreatment During COVID-19: Key Conclusions and Future Directions Based on a Systematic Literature Review

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a far-ranging impact. As societies struggled to minimize infection, questions arose regarding the consequences for children. Initial research reported the urgent need for child protective services worldwide to adapt existing policies and practices to protect children from maltreatment during this time, which is the rationale for the current systematic literature review. This review examined studies published in peer-reviewed journals from March 2020 to October 2020 on child maltreatment (CM) in the context of COVID-19. Twenty-five manuscripts met the inclusion criteria and were predominantly from the United States, with three international studies. The majority of the studies included CM reports during COVID-19 based on official data. The results clearly demonstrated an increased risk for children alongside a worrisome international decrease in CM reports. Only two studies addressed interventions during the pandemic. The current review highlights that, along with the obligation of scholars to advance the protection of children during COVID-19, there is much that is unknown. Future studies should examine the impact of the pandemic on children and their surrounding systems as well as child protective services' responses, which face enormous challenges during a pandemic. An additional conclusion is that, since children were not identified as a health risk group during the pandemic, their protection rights may have been jeopardized. Furthermore, the variance identified in the policies of different countries pinpoints the urgent need to establish an international protocol for protecting children from maltreatment during COVID-19, a protocol that will hopefully be a basis for policymakers worldwide.

Housing insecurity and adolescent behavioral outcomes: The mediating role of aggression in parenting

BACKGROUND

Housing insecurity impacts millions of families with children each year and is linked with a range of adverse outcomes. Greater understanding of pathways linking housing insecurity with emotional and behavioral problem is needed to prevent enduring mental health problems. The Family Stress Model and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model contribute understanding to the complex dynamics underlying development from childhood to adolescence in the context of economic hardship and parental strain.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of harsh parenting in the relationship between childhood housing insecurity and adolescent behavior problems.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, and included a sample of at-risk mothers with children from 20 large U.S. cities (N = 2719).

METHODS

Structural equation modeling with latent variables tested direct and indirect pathways from housing insecurity at age 5 with emotional and behavioral problems at age 15 via intermediary harsh parenting at age 9.

RESULTS

Housing insecurity directly predicted adolescent anxious/depressive behaviors (β = 0.14, p < 0.01); and indirectly predicted rule-breaking (β = 0.04, p < 0.01), aggressive (β = 0.05, p < 0.01), and anxious/depressive (β = 0.03, p < 0.05) behaviors via psychological aggression in parenting.

CONCLUSIONS

Failure to address housing hardship among families with young children increases maltreatment risk and subsequent enduring mental health problems. Efforts to identify and mitigate housing hardship and maltreatment among at-risk families offer promise to promote long-term mental health in the transition from childhood to adolescence.

Domains of housing insecurity: Associations with child maltreatment risk

BACKGROUND

Housing insecurity increases risk for child maltreatment, although links from specific domains of housing hardship to specific maltreatment types are not well understood.

OBJECTIVE

The present study tested relationships between three domains of housing - quality, stability, and affordability - with three types of child maltreatment - psychological abuse, physical abuse, and neglect - in a sample of mothers with children age 5-9.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Data came from a large, longitudinal survey that recruited mothers in hospitals shortly after giving birth in 20 large American cities; five follow-up interviews occurred over 15 years. The analytic sample was limited to mothers who retained at least partial custody when children were aged 5 and 9 and participated in the In-Home sub-study (N = 1804).

METHODS

A measurement model fit using confirmatory factory analysis estimated six latent constructs, while a path analysis estimated links from each housing domain to each maltreatment type.

RESULTS

Housing affordability was associated with reduced psychological and physical abuse (β = -1.10, p < 0.05 and β = -0.66, p < 0.05 respectively), but not with neglect. Neither housing quality nor stability had any significant association with any maltreatment type. The only significant predictor of neglect was maternal depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Housing affordability in particular may protect against maltreatment, but other domains of housing insecurity appear to have little to no effect controlling for other household factors. Findings highlight the need for increased affordable housing supply, as well as mental health supports for families cost-burdened by meeting basic needs.

The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic for families of infants involved with Child Protection Services for maltreatment concerns

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated physical distancing restrictions have exacerbated social, economic and health disadvantage within our communities. With increases in mental health difficulties and family violence already being seen, there is concern that the risk of child maltreatment risk may also be increased. The current study aimed to explore the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic for families identified to be at risk of child maltreatment in Victoria, Australia. Understanding the experiences of the pandemic for families already at risk is essential in identifying how to best support vulnerable parents and young children during this challenging time. Interviews were conducted with 11 parents currently involved with Child Protection Services, and nine clinicians working within a child and family health services, supporting clients with child protection involvement. Parents and clinicians described a range of pandemic related stressors including employment and financial stress, worry about infection and changes to service access. In addition, parents with children in out of home care discussed decreased access to their children resulting from physical distancing restrictions. Parents and clinicians perceived the pandemic to be having a negative impact on parent mental health, parenting stress and isolation. Although parents raised minimal concerns about the impact of the pandemic on child well-being, clinicians expressed concerns about the rise in risk factors for child maltreatment. Parents discussed a range of coping strategies which they perceived to be helpful during the pandemic, and clinicians and parents described the need for additional mental health support and support to access basic needs. The study highlights the importance of ensuring at risk families have access to parenting and mental health support throughout the pandemic and the importance of ensuring children within at-risk families are sighted and their safety assessed.

Drivers of Inequalities among Families Involved with Child Welfare Services: A General Overview

When parents are unable to raise their children or to meet the minimum acceptable standards for their care, this can lead to involvement with child welfare services [...].

Association of Housing Stress With Child Maltreatment: A Systematic Review

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.

The Effect of Home Foreclosures on Child Maltreatment Rates: A Longitudinal Examination of Neighborhoods in Cleveland, Ohio

Foreclosure rates have been linked to increased levels of neighborhood stress. Neighborhood stressors can impact a number of interpersonal and familial dynamics, including child maltreatment. Despite this, little research has examined the relationship between neighborhood foreclosure rates and aggregate trends in child maltreatment. Using substantiated child maltreatment cases, foreclosure, and census data at the neighborhood level in Cleveland, Ohio we find that home foreclosures are a significant predictor of neighborhood rates of child maltreatment. Importantly, this effect is durable and is not impacted by the housing crisis. Furthermore, this is a direct effect and is not shaped by other neighborhood conditions like poverty, as found in prior research. From a policy perspective, this suggests that policy makers need to be cognizant of the effect of foreclosures on child maltreatment regardless of the historical and economic contexts of the neighborhood.

Pathways from Food and Housing Insecurity to Adolescent Behavior Problems: The Mediating Role of Parenting Stress

Unmet basic needs in childhood predict a range of behavior problems, but long-term pathways from childhood food and housing insecurity to adolescent behavior problems are not well understood. Applications of the Family Stress Model suggest parenting stress may mediate this relationship in the transition to adolescence. The present study tested whether the links from childhood food and housing insecurity to adolescent aggressive and depressive behaviors were mediated by parenting stress over 10 years. The analytic sample included 2454 mother-child dyads and skewed socioeconomically disadvantaged. The majority (78%) of mothers were nonwhite, half had not received beyond a high school education, and 60% were single. The first wave of data for the present study occurred when children (48% female) were approximately five years old, with follow-ups at age nine and 15. Structural equation modeling with latent variables showed direct associations from housing insecurity to both behavioral outcomes, and indirect associated from food insecurity to both outcomes via parenting stress. The findings point to the need for screening and supports for food and housing problems in order to prevent long-term mental health consequences.

Parental Social Isolation and Child Maltreatment Risk during the COVID-19 Pandemic

On March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The social isolation and economic stress resulting from pandemic have the potential to exacerbate child abuse and neglect. This study examines the association of parents' perceived social isolation and recent employment loss to risk for child maltreatment (neglect, verbal aggression, and physical punishment) in the early weeks of the pandemic. Participants (N = 283) were adults living in the U.S. who were parents of at least one child 0-12 years of age. Participants completed an online survey approximately 2 weeks after the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was a pandemic. The survey asked about recent changes (i.e., in the past 2 weeks) to employment status, parenting behaviors, use of discipline, use of spanking, and depressive symptoms. Nearly 20% of parents had hit or spanked their child in the past two weeks alone. Parents' perceived social isolation and recent employment loss were associated with self-report of physical and emotional neglect and verbal aggression against the child, even after controlling for parental depressive symptoms, income, and sociodemographic factors. Parents' perceived social isolation was associated with parental report of changes in discipline, specifically, using discipline and spanking more often in the past 2 weeks. Associations were robust to analyses that included two variables that assessed days spent social distancing and days spent in "lockdown." Study results point to the need for mental health supports to parents and children to ameliorate the strain created by COVID-19.

How does COVID-19 impact intrafamilial child sexual abuse? Comparison analysis of reports by practitioners in Israel and the US

BACKGROUND

There is consensus in child sexual abuse (CSA) literature that intrafamilial child sexual abuse (IFCSA) has a tremendous impact on children and families while simultaneously creating challenges for practitioners. COVID-19 impacted countries worldwide and generated a global crisis resulting in impacts on daily life, however, it's effect on IFCSA is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to compare professional perspectives and experiences working with IFCSA with respect to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic within the United States and Israel.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Participants were therapeutic, child welfare and legal professionals, who provided services to children involved in IFCSA.

METHODS

This qualitative cross-cultural comparative study analyzes professional experiences of IFCSA during COVID-19 based on an open-ended questionnaire answered online, with 37 responses from the US and 23 responses from Israel.

RESULTS

Findings reveal mostly negative changes in the dynamics of IFCSA families during COVID-19, including financial, environmental, and emotional hardships, as well as some positive changes in the relationships among family members. In terms of professional interventions, concerns were raised that COVID-19 has been detrimental to the disclosure of IFCSA, with plummeting child abuse reports. Further, risk and benefits of transferring to internet based or telephonic therapeutic interventions were shared.

CONCLUSIONS

Governmental and community efforts are needed to develop a safety net of protective factors to reduce IFCSA risks and increase resiliency during the COVID-19 pandemic and future global crises. Moreover, enhanced strategies to accessing and supporting families remotely such as using technology could improve identification and response to IFCSA.

Housing insecurity and adolescent well-being: Relationships with child welfare and criminal justice involvement

BACKGROUND

Housing insecurity is endemic among low-income, marginalized families throughout the United States. Unstably housed families face increased likelihood of coming into contact with various social systems that upend family routines and norms, but the roles of these contacts in linking housing insecurity with long-term adolescent outcomes are unknown.

OBJECTIVE

The present study tested whether family contacts with the criminal justice and child welfare systems mediated links between housing insecurity and adverse adolescent outcomes.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Data came from at-risk families with children born 1998-2000 in 20 large American cities followed over 15 years (N = 2,892).

METHODS

Structural equation modeling estimated a measurement model using confirmatory factor analysis and a structural model testing direct and indirect pathways from housing insecurity to adolescent depression and delinquency via contact with the criminal justice and child welfare systems.

RESULTS

Housing insecurity was associated with increased contact with both the criminal justice and child welfare systems. Housing insecurity at age 5 was directly associated with adolescent depression at age 15 (β = 0.09, p < 0.05) and indirectly associated with adolescent delinquency via mothers' criminal justice (β = 0.04, p < 0.05) and child welfare (β = 0.07, p < 0.05) contacts.

CONCLUSIONS

Families with high needs may face stigma or seek assistance that increases surveillance of families and thus likelihood for sanctioning by the criminal justice and child welfare systems. Providers and systems working with low-income, insecurely housed families must consider stigma faced by clients to avoid further marginalizing underserved populations.

That Which is Essential has been Made Invisible: The Need to Bring a Structural Risk Perspective to Reduce Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare

The racial and ethnic disproportionality and disparity in the child protective system (CPS) has been a concern for decades. Structural factors strongly influence engagement with the child welfare system and families experiencing poverty or financial hardship are at a heightened risk. The economic factors influencing child welfare involvement are further complicated by structural racism which has resulted in a greater prevalence of poverty and financial hardship for families who are Black, Native American or Alaska Native (Indigenous), or and Latino/Hispanic (Latino) and their communities. The multiple decision points within CPS are an opportunity to reify or correct for bias in child welfare outcomes. One major effort to eliminate racial disparities and disproportionalities has been to enact standardized decision-making procedures that aim to control for implicit or explicit bias in CPS. The Structured Decision-Making Model's (SDM) actuarial-based risk assessment (RA) is the gold-standard of these efforts. In this conceptual article, we ask (1) How are structural factors accounted for in assessment of risk within CPS? and (2) What are the consequences when structural factors are left out of risk assessments procedures? We posit that the exclusion of race, ethnicity, and economic factors from the RA has inflated the importance of variables that become proxies for these factors, resulting in inaccurate assessments of risk. The construction of this tool reflects how structural racism has been overlooked as an important cause of disproportionality in CPS, with interventions then focused on individual workers and cases, rather than the system at large. We suggest a new framework for thinking about risk, the structural risk perspective, and call for a revisioning of assessment of risk within child welfare that acknowledges the social determinants of CPS involvement.

Social determinants of health and child maltreatment: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Child maltreatment causes substantial numbers of injuries and deaths, but not enough is known about social determinants of health (SDH) as risk factors. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of the association of SDH with child maltreatment.

METHODS

Five data sources (PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, SCOPUS, JSTORE, and the Social Intervention Research and Evaluation Network Evidence Library) were searched for studies examining the following SDH: poverty, parental educational attainment, housing instability, food insecurity, uninsurance, access to healthcare, and transportation. Studies were selected and coded using the PICOS statement.

RESULTS

The search identified 3441 studies; 33 were included in the final database. All SDH categories were significantly associated with child maltreatment, except that there were no studies on transportation or healthcare. The greatest number of studies were found for poverty (n = 29), followed by housing instability (13), parental educational attainment (8), food insecurity (1), and uninsurance (1).

CONCLUSIONS

SDH, including poverty, parental educational attainment, housing instability, food insecurity, and uninsurance, are associated with child maltreatment. These findings suggest an urgent priority should be routinely screening families for SDH, with referrals to appropriate services, a process that could have the potential to prevent both child maltreatment and subsequent recidivism.

IMPACT

SDH, including poverty, parental educational attainment, housing instability, food insecurity, and uninsurance, are associated with child maltreatment. No prior published systematic review, to our knowledge, has examined the spectrum of SDH with respect to their associations with child maltreatment. These findings suggest an urgent priority should be routinely screening families for SDH, with referrals to appropriate services, a process that could have the potential to prevent both child maltreatment and subsequent recidivism.

Childhood homelessness, resilience, and adolescent mental health: A prospective, person-centered approach

School districts and other service providers are increasingly aware of the substantial mental health needs of students experiencing family homelessness. Past findings are mixed regarding whether homelessness conveys unique risk beyond the risks associated with extreme poverty. With prospective longitudinal data on homelessness experiences across childhood, we utilized latent profile analysis as a person-centered approach to conceptualizing mental health outcomes in adolescence for 3,778 youth. We considered literal family homelessness as well as families living doubled-up, and we employed propensity score matching to identify a comparison group of non-homeless students balanced across a range of covariates to address systematic bias. Results indicated that students who experienced literal homelessness during childhood were significantly less likely to demonstrate profiles of resilience in mental health functioning. We considered our approach and findings in light of challenges and opportunities particularly relevant to the school context.

Risk and protective factors for child maltreatment: A review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The purpose of this review was to synthesize the empirical literature regarding key risk and protective factors for child maltreatment at each level of the socioecological model and to identify directions for future research and practice.

RECENT FINDINGS

Prior research has largely focused on risk and protective factors at the individual and interpersonal levels of the socioecological model. More recently, research has begun to examine risk and protective factors at the community and societal levels, with results suggesting that programmatic and policy interventions that reduce risk and enhance protection at these levels are promising primary prevention strategies for child maltreatment.

SUMMARY

Future research should continue to focus on risk and protective factors at the community and societal levels with the aim of building the evidence base for population-wide prevention strategies. Such strategies have the potential to create contexts in which families and children thrive.

Harsh physical punishment as a mediator between income, re-reports and out-of-home placement in a child protective services-involved population

Poverty is consistently associated with a higher risk of experiencing child maltreatment, and children from poor families are the majority of children involved in child protective services (CPS). However, the mediators in the relationship from income to CPS involvement are not entirely understood. Using theoretically-informed mediating path models and data from the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II), this study tests the role of harsh physical punishment as a mediator between family income and CPS involvement. CPS involvement was measured by subsequent report of maltreatment and removal to out-of-home care. The direct paths from income to re-report and to removal were significant; with higher income associated with lower risk of report and removal. Lower income was significantly associated with higher rates of harsh physical punishment. However, harsh punishment did not mediate the relationship between income and the outcomes. These results suggest that even within a population primarily comprised of low-income families, lower income is a risk for subsequent reports and removals as well as a risk for higher rates of harsh physical punishment. However, in this sample harsh physical punishment is not the mechanism that results in higher subsequent-reports or removal rates.