When a child is removed from their home and placed in foster care, society takes over the responsibility for that child's well-being and development. Failure to provide a child with a nurturing upbringing may have negative consequences for the child as well as for society. Using Swedish longitudinal registry data for a national cohort sample of siblings, in which some were placed in foster care and others remained in their birth parents' care, this study asks whether long-term foster care ensures improved life chances. Results from multilevel regression analyses of a wide range of educational, social, and health-related outcomes in mature adult age (16 outcome constructs) support a row of previous studies indicating that traditional long-term foster care does not seem to improve maltreated children's life chances.
Children of parents with cognitive impairment are overrepresented in the child protection system (CPS). The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between primary caregiver cognitive impairment (CCI) and CPS investigation outcomes using the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS-2008). The CIS-2008 includes process and outcomes data on a national sample of CPS investigations involving a total of 15,980 children under the age of 16 years. This secondary data analysis found that primary CCI was noted in 6.3% of all investigations. When primary CCI was noted, investigations were 3-4 times more likely to result in child removal and court action. The results further suggest that some case characteristics, including case history variables, are weighted differently in decision making depending on whether or not primary CCI is indicated. A systematic, national strategy is needed to build capacity in government and community sectors for the provision of research-informed child and youth protection and family support services for these parents and their children.
David McConnell, Marjorie Aunos, Laura Pacheco et al.
The aim of the present study was 2-fold: (1) to utilize improved amygdala segmentation and exploratory factor analysis to characterize the latent volumetric structure among amygdala nuclei and (2) to assess the effect of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on amygdalar morphometry and current psychiatric symptoms. To investigate these aims, structural (T1) MRI and self-report data were obtained from 119 emerging adults. Regression analysis showed that higher ACE scores were related to reduced volume of the right, but not the left, amygdalar segments. Further, exploratory factor analysis yielded a two-factor structure, basolateral and central-medial nuclei of the right amygdala. Stractual equation modeling analyses revealed that higher ACE scores were significantly related to a reduced volume of the right basolateral and central-medial segments. Furthermore, reduction in the right basolateral amygdala was associated with increased anxiety, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use. This association supports an indirect effect between early adversity and psychiatric problems via reduced right basolateral amygdalar volume. The high-resolution segmentation results reveal a latent structure among amygdalar nuclei, which is consistent with prior work conducted in nonhuman mammals. These findings extend previous reports linking early adversity, right amygdala volume, and psychopathology.
Child maltreatment may affect autonomic nervous system (ANS) responsivity, and ANS responsivity may influence the impact of child maltreatment on later outcomes including long-term mental/physical health. This review systematically evaluated the evidence regarding effects of maltreatment on ANS responsivity in children and examined how ANS responsivity may influence the association between maltreatment and psychopathology, with attention to relevant developmental issues. We searched the literature for relevant studies using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched five electronic databases, performed key word searches in relevant journals, hand searched reference sections of relevant articles, and contacted experts in the field. Articles were extracted according to inclusion criteria and their quality assessed. The search produced 1,388 articles; 22 met inclusion criteria. Most of the studies suggested blunted cardiovascular responsivity generally and sympathetic activation specifically in response to stress in maltreated children compared to nonmaltreated children. Findings around vagal responsivity and skin conductance were mixed. Limited evidence was found for ANS responsivity as a moderator or mediator of psychopathology risk among maltreated children. Maltreatment may be associated with blunted sympathetic activation in stressful situations. Differences in ANS responsivity may influence psychopathology risk among maltreated children. Further research is needed to confirm the nature and magnitude of such effects.
Genevieve Young‐Southward, Cassandra Svelnys, Ruchika Gajwani et al.
Child protection systems that implement differential response (DR) systems screen to route referrals to an investigation response (IR) or alternative response (AR). AR responses emphasize family engagement, assessment of family needs, and service linkage. Usually, AR state-level policy does not require child welfare staff to make a maltreatment determination. Jurisdictions implement DR systems differently, leading to variations in the proportion of AR cases, risk levels of cases served, and the ways families access and use services. County data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System were analyzed for six states from 2004 to 2013 that implemented DR. Variation in county-level AR rates were associated with county-level re-report rates using regression models with risk adjustments for socioeconomic and other county characteristics. Counties had 3% fewer re-reports overall for each percentage increase in AR use; higher levels of AR use are related to lower levels of re-reporting. When county AR and IR cases were analyzed separately, increasing rates of AR were associated with lower re-report rates for IR cases, but higher re-report rates for AR cases. Findings for the AR and IR subgroup must be interpreted with caution as a number of technical factors may be driving these results.
Child maltreatment is a major public health problem. Although maltreatment rates vary over time and are influenced by neighborhood characteristics, the unique effects of crime and disadvantage on risk are not well understood. This study utilized a Bayesian spatiotemporal approach to examine risk factors for substantiated child abuse and neglect over a 9-year period across zip codes in Davidson County, TN. Risk of child sexual and physical abuse decreased from 2008 to 2016. In contrast, risk of child neglect increased from 2011 to 2014, followed by a rapid decrease in risk. Whereas higher percentages of families living in poverty were associated with higher risk of all maltreatment subtypes, higher unemployment rates were uniquely associated with risk of child neglect. Crime rates were positively associated with risk of child physical and sexual abuse but not neglect. Results have implications for tailoring prevention strategies according to geographic area and maltreatment subtype.
Matthew C. Morris, Miriam Marco, Kathryn Maguire‐Jack et al.
Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with more negative coupling between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and amygdala, a brain network involved in emotion regulation in both children and adults. This pattern may be particularly likely to emerge in individuals exposed to threatening experiences during childhood (e.g., exposure to child abuse), although this has not been examined in prior research. We collected functional magnetic resonance imaging data on 57 adolescents during an emotion regulation task. Greater negative functional connectivity between vmPFC and amygdala occurred during viewing of negative compared to neutral images. This vmPFC-amygdala task-related functional connectivity was more negative in adolescents exposed to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse than those without a history of maltreatment and was associated with abuse severity. This pattern of more negative functional connectivity was associated with higher levels of externalizing psychopathology concurrently and 2 years later. Greater negative connectivity in the vmPFC-amygdala network during passive viewing of negative images may reflect disengagement of regulatory responses from vmPFC in situations eliciting strong amygdala reactivity, potentially due to stronger appraisals of threat in children exposed to early threatening environments. This pattern may be adaptive in the short term but place adolescents at higher risk of psychopathology later in life.
Matthew Peverill, Margaret A. Sheridan, Daniel S. Busso et al.
This study sought to enhance knowledge of the link between child sexual abuse (CSA) and long-term criminality by investigating gender-specific effects and the role of index sexual abuse characteristics, revictimization, and serious mental health problems. An Australian sample of 2,759 documented cases of sexual abuse and 2,677 community controls were linked to statewide police records and public mental health service databases, with a follow-up period of 13-44 years. Four key findings emerged from the analysis: (1) CSA victims were more likely than controls to engage in all types of criminal behaviors including violent, sexual, and other offending; (2) gender moderated the relationship between CSA and criminal offending, with stronger associations found among females for general and violent offending, and among males for sexual offending; (3) certain features of the index sexual abuse (i.e., developmental period, number of perpetrators, relation to perpetrator), further victimization experiences, and the development of serious mental health problems were all associated with an increased likelihood of criminal behavior among CSA victims; (4) CSA victims who engaged in criminal offending were more likely to present with cumulative risks than victims not engaging in criminal offending. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.
Nina L. Papalia, James R. P. Ogloff, Margaret C. Cutajar et al.
This study presents the most comprehensive national prevalence estimates of diverse gender and sexuality identities in Australians, and the associations with five separate types of child maltreatment and their overlap (multi-type maltreatment). Using Australian Child Maltreatment Study (ACMS) data ( N = 8503), 9.5% of participants identified with a diverse sexuality and .9% with a diverse gender. Diverse identities were more prevalent in the youth cohort, with 17.7% of 16–24 years olds identifying with a diverse sexuality and 2.3% with a diverse gender. Gender and sexuality diversity also intersect – for example, with women (aged 16–24 and 25–44) more likely than men to identify as bisexual. The prevalence of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and exposure to domestic violence was very high for those with diverse sexuality and/or gender identities. Maltreatment was most prevalent for participants in the youth cohort with diverse gender identities (90.5% experiencing some form of child maltreatment; 77% multi-type maltreatment) or diverse sexualities (85.3% reporting any child maltreatment; 64.3% multi-type maltreatment). The strong association found between child maltreatment and diverse sexuality and gender identities is critical for understanding the social and mental health vulnerabilities of these groups, and informing services needed to support them.
Daryl John Higgins, David M. Lawrence, Divna M. Haslam et al.
The cycle of violence suggests that maltreatment increases children's aggression, but research shows that many children are resilient to the harms caused by maltreatment. This study examines whether or not parent/child relationship quality accounts for variation in the impact of maltreatment on aggression and hypothesizes that the effect will be weaker for children who have better relationships with their caregivers. Race differences in these effects are also examined. Based on prospective data from a high-risk sample of 620 (207 White and 413 Black) families in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect, ordinary least squares regression analyses indicated that youth with at least one official allegation of maltreatment before age 10 had significantly more frequent aggressive behaviors at age 12. The direct effect of maltreatment on aggression did not vary for Black and White youth. However, a significant three-way interaction indicated that parent/child relationship quality buffered the relationship between maltreatment and aggressive behaviors for White but not Black children. Although additional research is required to identify factors that ameliorate the impact of maltreatment for Black youth, the findings support the need for interventions to help children cope with maltreatment and to strengthen parent/child relationships.
