The use of multiple informants to assess children's maltreatment experiences

Most researchers rely exclusively on the reports of protective service workers to determine children's abuse history. In this report, information about children's maltreatment experiences is obtained from protective service workers and three supplementary sources of data: parents, medical records, and clinical observations. Fifty-six children from 34 families receiving protective services for verified reports of physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and/or emotional maltreatment participated in the study, with most children known to have experienced more than one type of abuse. The supplementary data provided important information about the range and severity of children's maltreatment experiences. Review of the parent and medical record data led to identification of 28 children who had additional types of maltreatment experiences that were not reported by their protective services workers—nine cases of physical abuse, two cases of neglect, five cases of sexual abuse, and 12 cases of emotional maltreatment. Supplementary data also revealed information about incidents of specific types of abuse that were more severe than those reported by the children's protective service workers in an additional 24 cases. A method was devised to synthesize information provided from the different sources of data examined in this report to derive 0–4 point ratings of four categories of maltreatment experiences: (1) physical abuse, (3) neglect, (3) sexual abuse, and (4) emotional maltreatment. The Kappa reliability coefficients for each of these scales were .88, .73, .83, and .90, respectively. Data demonstrating the relationship between these maltreatment ratings and various indices of the children's socioemotional and cognitive functioning were also presented to provide preliminary support for the validity of these scales. The findings from this study suggest that multiple sources of data should be examined in order to obtain accurate assessments of children's maltreatment experiences, and that independent raters can synthesize discrepant data to obtain reliable and valid estimates of children's abuse history. Clinical and methodological issues relevant to the improved assessment of children's maltreatment experiences are also discussed.     

Poor parenting and antisocial behavior among homeless young adults: links to dating violence perpetration and victimization

Though research has examined risk factors associated with street victimization among homeless young people, little is known about dating violence experiences among this group. Given homeless youths' elevated rates of child maltreatment, it is likely that they are at high risk for dating violence. As such, the current study examined the association between child maltreatment and parental warmth with dating violence perpetration and victimization through substance use and delinquency among a sample of 172 homeless males and females. Results from path analysis revealed that physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect were all significant correlates of both substance use and delinquency, whereas lack of parental warmth was only associated with substance use. Neglect and substance use had direct effects on dating violence and substance use and was found to mediate the relationship between physical abuse and dating violence. Finally, females, older youth, and non-Whites had significantly higher levels of dating violence compared with their counterparts.     

Personality Disorders in a Sample of Parents Accused of Physical Abuse or Neglect

The objective of this study was to provide a psychological profile of parents who have been formally accused of child maltreatment. A clinical group of 16 parents accused of physical abuse and 22 parents accused of neglect were compared with 18 parents from a control group. The MCMI-III was administered individually for each parent. Both groups of maltreatment showed significant differences on different scales of the MCMI-III. No difference was seen between the parents of both groups of child maltreatment. Many parents of both child maltreatment groups reported at least one form of abuse during their childhood, suggesting that a childhood marked by abuse or neglect on the part of a parent could result in personality disorders and that these disorders may have something to do with the intergenerational transmission of abuse.     

Social Class, Child Maltreatment, and Delinquent Behavior

The relationship between social class and child maltreatment and between maltreatment and delinquency were examined, particular attention being paid to previous deficiencies in the operationalization of maltreatment and class. Maltreatment was operationalized with subscales for physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect, while social class was operationalized with multiple indicators. Survey data from 110 high school freshmen were analyzed and revealed the following: (a) a weak but consistent inverse correlation between social class and all forms of child maltreatment, (b) a stronger relationship between social class and maltreatment when lower-class membership was operationalized in a manner consistent with the concept of an underclass, (c) that emotional abuse and neglect were correlated positively with all forms of delinquent behavior examined, and (d) that physical abuse was not correlated appreciably and positively with any form of delinquency.     

Gender Inequity Associated with Increased Child Physical Abuse and Neglect: a Cross-Country Analysis of Population-Based Surveys and Country-Level Statistics

Gender inequity is proposed as a societal-level risk factor for child maltreatment. However, most cross-national research examining this association is limited to developing countries and has used limited measures of gender inequity and child homicides as a proxy for child maltreatment. To examine the relationship between gender inequity and child maltreatment, we used caregivers’ reported use of severe physical punishment (proxy for physical abuse) and children under 5 left alone or under the care of another child younger than 10 years of age (supervisory neglect) and three indices of gender inequity (the Social and Institutional Gender Index, the Gender Inequality Index, and the Gender Gap Index) from 57 countries, over half of which were developing countries. We found all three gender inequity indices to be significantly associated with physical abuse and two of the three to be significantly associated with neglect, after controlling for country-level development. Based on these findings, efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect might benefit from reducing gender inequity.     

Methodological Issues in Assessing the Effects of Maltreatment Characteristics on Behavioral Adjustment in Maltreated Children

This paper explored methodological issues in examining the impact of maltreatment characteristics on behavioral adjustment in a sample of maltreated school-age children. Different approaches to assessing the effects of maltreatment type were used to determine whether maltreatment characteristics differed by type of maltreatment and whether relationships between maltreatment characteristics and child behavioral functioning differed according to type of maltreatment. Results revealed several differences among the three types of maltreatment subgroups (physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse) on characteristics of maltreatment experiences. Correlations between maltreatment characteristics and outcome measures for the sample as a whole obscured findings that relationships were often specific to particular types of maltreatment. Developing generic definitions for maltreatment characteristics applicable to all forms of maltreatment is difficult because of differences in meaning across maltreatment types. Findings suggest that the role of maltreatment characteristics in children's behavioral functioning should be examined separately for each form of maltreatment.     

Biology, childhood trauma, and murder: rethinking justice

This article reviews recent findings in the developmental neurophysiology of children subjected to psychological trauma. Studies link extreme neglect and abuse with long-term changes in the nervous and endocrine systems. A growing body of research literature indicates that individuals with severe trauma histories are at higher risk of behaving violently than those without such histories. This article links these two research areas by discussing how severe and protracted child abuse and/or neglect can lead to biological changes, putting these individuals at greater risk for committing homicide and other forms of violence than those without child maltreatment histories. The implications of these biological findings for forensic evaluations are discussed. Based on new understanding of the effects of child maltreatment, the authors invite law and mental health professionals to rethink their notions of justice and offender accountability, and they challenge policymakers to allocate funds for research into effective treatment and for service delivery.     

A qualitative study of early family histories and transitions of homeless youth

Using intensive qualitative interviews with 40 homeless youth, this study examined their early family histories for abuse, neglect, and other family problems and the number and types of transitions that youth experienced. Multiple forms of child maltreatment, family alcoholism, drug use, and criminal activity characterized early family histories of many youth. Leaving home because of either running away or being removed by child protective services often resulted in multiple transitions, which regularly included moving from foster care homes to a group home, back to their parents, and then again returning to the streets. Although having experienced family disorganization set youth on trajectories for early independence, there were many unique paths that youth traveled prior to ending up on the streets.     

Classifying Type of Child Maltreatment: Does the Source of Information Make a Difference?

To determine whether antecedents or consequences of maltreatment differ by type of maltreatment, researchers must address the question of how to classify type of maltreatment. However, maltreatment rarely occurs in the pure forms desirable for research. Children often experience multiple forms of maltreatment at one time or experience different types of maltreatment at different times. This paper examines six different methods for classifying type of maltreatment in a sample of cases reported to a state protective service agency. The greatest shifts in type of maltreatment group membership occurred when the definition was expanded from a single maltreatment report to include prior history of maltreatment for the study child and present and prior maltreatment for siblings. Multiple forms of maltreatment increased as more maltreatment history was taken into account. Regardless of the classification source, the most frequent multiple type was the combination of physical abuse and neglect.     

Severity of Partner and Child Maltreatment: Reliability of Scales Used in America's Largest Child and Family Protection Agency

This paper describes two studies investigating the interrater agreement of severity scales for family maltreatment used in America's largest child and family maltreatment agency: the U.S. military's Family Advocacy Program (FAP). The USAF-FAP Severity Index is a multidimensional rating system for clinicians' evaluations of the severity of seven forms of family maltreatment: partner physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; child physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; and child neglect. The first study evaluated the reliability of the scale as it is used in the field. The second study compared a generalizable sample of clinicians' ratings to an established gold standard of what the ratings should have been. The Severity Index demonstrated fair-to-good levels of reliability, suggesting that with minimal cost, investigating caseworkers can routinely assess, and make fairly reliable ratings of, the severity of seven forms of family maltreatment for each case they investigate.     

Gender Differences in the Connections Between Violence Experienced as a Child and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence in Young Adulthood

This paper uses longitudinal and nationally representative survey data to investigate the direct relationship between three forms of child maltreatment (neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse), and future intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration in the USA. We further examine the indirect effect that child maltreatment has on future IPV perpetration through the presence of youth violence perpetration, and the roles of socioeconomic factors on committing youth violence and IPV. Analyses indicate that gender differences exist for the developmental relationship between child maltreatment and young adult IPV perpetration, and the effects of socioeconomic factors on youth violence and IPV perpetration. For males, the direct effects of being neglected/physically abused as a child on IPV perpetration are not significant. However, the indirect effects of being neglected/physically abused on IPV perpetration through the presence of youth violence perpetration are significant. For females, the direct effects of being neglected/physically abused on IPV perpetration are significant. The indirect effect of being neglected on IPV perpetration is significant, while the indirect effect of childhood physical abuse is not significant. Childhood sexual abuse is not significantly directly associated with IPV perpetration for females; however, for males, it is the strongest (i.e., largest effect size) direct predictor of IPV perpetration. The indirect effects of childhood sexual abuse on IPV perpetration are not significant for both females and males.

Correlates of Substantiated Emotional Maltreatment in the Second Canadian Incidence Study

The objective of this study was to determine the correlates of substantiated psychological maltreatment (PMT) in Canada on functions of maltreatment characteristics, child profile, household profile, and child protection services interventions. This study is based on a secondary analysis of data collected in the second Canadian Incidence Study. PMT investigations were categorized into six groups: emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and other maltreatment as single form, and these same three groups when they co-occurred with another form of maltreatment. Six logistic regressions, comparing all pairs of groups, were carried out. Cases of PMT (single form) were more chronic and associated with greater adverse emotional impact than other forms of maltreatment. Mothers of psychologically maltreated children had more mental health issues. Emotional neglect cases were more complex (e.g., substance abuse, mental health, and social housing). The three co-occurrent groups present more negative factors but more risk factors are observed when PMT are also observed (e.g., emotional harm, alcohol abuse, housing problems, chronicity, and referral to other services).     

Is Domestic Violence Learned? The Contribution of Five Forms of Child Maltreatment to Men's Violence and Adjustment

On the basis of a learning-theory approach to the intergenerational transmission of violence, researchers have focused almost exclusively on violent men's childhood experiences of physical abuse and witnessing family violence. Little consideration has been given to the coexistence of other forms of child maltreatment or the role of family dysfunction in contributing to violence. This study shows the relationships between the level of child maltreatment (physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, sexual abuse, neglect, and witnessing family violence), childhood family characteristics, current alcohol abuse, trauma symptomatology, and the level of physical and psychological spouse abuse perpetrated by 36 men with a history of perpetrating domestic violence who had attended counseling. As hypothesized, a high degree of overlap between risk factors was found. Child maltreatment, low family cohesion and adaptability, and alcohol abuse was significantly associated with frequency of physical spouse abuse and trauma symptomatology scores, but not psychological spouse abuse. Rather than physical abuse or witnessing family violence, childhood neglect uniquely predicted the level of physical spouse abuse. Witnessing family violence (but not physical abuse) was found to have a unique association with psychological spouse abuse and trauma symptomatology. These results present a challenge to the understanding of domestic violence obtained from learning theory.     

Maltreatment and Family Dysfunction in Childhood and the Subsequent Adjustment of Children and Adults

The adjustment problems associated with sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, neglect, and witnessing family violence during childhood were examined in three studies. Study 1 demonstrated significant overlap between maltreatment types in parent reports (N = 50) of maltreatment experiences of their child aged 5–12 years. Parental sexual punitiveness, traditionality, family adaptability and family cohesion significantly predicted scores on 4 maltreatment scales and children's externalizing behavior problems. Level of maltreatment predicted internalizing, externalizing, and sexual behavior problems. In Study 2, significant overlap was found between adults' retrospective reports (N = 138) of all 5 types of maltreating behaviors. Parental sexual punitiveness, traditionality, family adaptability, and family cohesion during childhood predicted the level of maltreatment and current psychopathology. Although child maltreatment scores predicted psychopathology, childhood family variables were better predictors of adjustment. Study 3 demonstrated that child maltreatment scores predicted positive aspects of adult adaptive functioning (N = 95).     

Bidirectional partner violence among homeless young adults: risk factors and outcomes

One of the most prevalent forms of violence in contemporary society is the victimization of intimate partners. Although it has been established that homeless young people experience high levels of victimization on the street, little is known about partner violence (PV) experiences among this group, especially bidirectional violence. As such, the purpose of this study is to examine the prevalence of PV and bidirectional violence and to investigate risk factors and outcomes of this form of violence using a sample of homeless young adults. Overall, 59% of the sample experienced bidirectional violence. Multivariate results reveal that sexual abuse and neglect are significant correlates of PV. In addition, being either a victim or perpetrator of PV is associated with more severe substance use and higher levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Finally, there is support for bidirectional violence among homeless young adults even after controlling for early histories of maltreatment.     

Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting Laws: Issues and Implications for Policy

Child maltreatment has been deemed a national emergency, with more than 2.5 million cases of abuse and neglect reported each year. Social policies designed to address child maltreatment include state statutes requiring professionals to report suspected child maltreatment to authorities. Mandatory reporting laws, while of potential benefit in the identification of abused and neglected children, can often result in higher or lower rates of reporting of abuse. The present paper reviews the functions of mandatory reporting statutes in professional contexts. Factors related to both low and high rates of reporting are discussed. In addition, suggestions for social policy are reviewed.     

Predicting overt and cyber stalking perpetration by male and female college students

In this study, self-report student surveys on early childhood maltreatment, attachment styles, alcohol expectancies, and narcissistic personality traits are examined to determine their influence on stalking behavior. Two subtypes of stalking were measured using Spitzberg and Cupach's (2008) Obsessive Relational Intrusion: cyber stalking (one scale) and overt stalking (comprised of all remaining scales). As t tests indicated that men and women differed significantly on several variables, OLS regression models were run separately for men (N = 807) and women (N = 934). Results indicated that childhood sexual maltreatment predicted both forms of stalking for men and women. For men, narcissistic vulnerability and its interaction with sexual abuse predicted stalking behavior (overt stalking R2 = 16% and cyber stalking R2 = 11%). For women, insecure attachment (for both types of stalking) and alcohol expectancies (for cyber stalking) predicted stalking behavior (overt stalking R2 = 4% and cyber stalking R2 = 9%). We discuss the methodological and policy implications of these findings.     

Examination of the Relationship Between Parental Satisfaction and Child Maltreatment Potential While Considering Social Desirability

Parental dissatisfaction with children appears to be associated with child maltreatment. However, little is known regarding the specific domains of parental dissatisfaction that may increase child maltreatment potential, particularly in perpetrators of child maltreatment where substance abuse is present. In this study, responses to the Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI) and a scale measuring parental satisfaction in 11 domains were examined in a sample of 82 mothers who were referred for treatment of substance abuse and child neglect by the local child protective service agency. Results indicated that mothers were relatively most satisfied with their children overall, and least satisfied in domains that were relevant to discipline (i.e., following house rules, compliance, reaction to redirection and punishment, completion of chores). Five of the 11 areas of parental satisfaction that were assessed evidenced negative correlations with child abuse potential, indicating that as satisfaction increased, abuse potential decreased. However, when correlation analyses excluded participants with elevated CAPI Lie scale scores (a measure of social desirability), only overall happiness demonstrated a significant negative correlation with child abuse potential. These results suggest that while associations are present among measures of parental satisfaction and child abuse potential, these associations are moderated to some extent by social desirability, which may help explain some of the inconsistencies reported in prior studies of parental satisfaction and child maltreatment potential.     

The role of stress in the commission of subsequent acts of child abuse and neglect

Data from 1874 clients, who were reported to authorities and treated for abuse and neglect, were examined to determine the role of stress in the commission of subsequent acts. Several case, client, and family characteristics were examined. It was hypothesized that the contribution of stressful events in clients' lives would have a greater effect than all other factors assessed. Results indicated that stress, while contributing to the explanation of subsequent acts of child maltreatment, explains only 9% of the variance over that already explained by other factors. In fact, stressful events, along with seriousness of initial assault, contributed significantly to the explanation of the commission of subsequent acts of child maltreatment.