A Multilevel Evaluation of a Comprehensive Child Abuse Prevention Program

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which participation in a county-wide prevention program leads to improvements in protective factors associated with child abuse prevention (CAP) and whether improvements in measured protective factors relate to decreased odds of child abuse. Method: Using multilevel growth modeling, our analyses focus on an economically poor, culturally diverse sample of 1,184 mothers who maintained their involvement in the program for at least 6 months. Results: Our results support a limited association between program participation and improvements in maternal protective factors. Nevertheless, pursuant to the working theory of many CAP programs, improvements in maternal social support and mental health, when evident, were significantly associated with reduced odds of child abuse. Conclusion: More robustly specified interventions and supports are needed to enhance outcomes for the majority of families targeted by the program, including those who present the greatest vulnerability for child abuse.

Analyzing the Validity of the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory for Low-Income Populations

“…In addition, CPS provided child abuse allegation and investigation data on these families. (see also, Lawson et al, 2012).…”

“…Second, because prior history with CPS has been shown to confound the relationship between parenting attitudes and child abuse and neglect (Chaffin, 2004;Lawson et al, 2012), families were excluded from the sample if they had prior contact with the child welfare system. Third, because parents in the SF program received interventions designed to improve parenting and prevent child abuse, our analysis of the predictive validity of the AAPI-2 needed to be conducted on assessment scores that followed parents' involvement in the program.…”

Shaping the Future of Prevention in Social Work: An Analysis of the Professional Literature from 2000 through 2010

“…Journals focused on children and families, such as Child Welfare and Families in Society , both increased their prevention content. Perhaps this signals an emerging shift from exclusive focus on treatment to inclusion of prevention in an area of practice where prevention has been increasingly proven to show some success (Lawson, Almeda-Lawson, & Byrnes, 2012). …”

Implementing an Inpatient Social Early Warning System for Child Maltreatment

“…While, some studies have found mixed results (Duggan et al, 2007;Sweet & Applebaum, 2004), these home visitation programs seem to be particularly effective with young primiparous mothers (DuMont et al, 2008;LeCroy & Krysik, 2011). More recently, comprehensive community-based child abuse prevention programs have been shown effective in reducing the likelihood of child abuse and neglect (Lawson, Alameda-Lawson, & Byrnes, 2012).…”

“…However, its structure differs from most other prevention initiatives. While prevention initiatives have often been classified as either interventions focusing on single risk factors or on the interaction between multiple risk factors and the ecology of children (e.g., Lawson et al, 2012), the SEWS does not provide a specific intervention. The whole processes of the SEWS can be rather understood as a complex intervention.…”