A reason for the unmet needs of children in contact with social services? Non-resident fathers’ perspectives on delinquent child maintenance claims

Awortwe, Victoria; Bentum, Hajara; Cudjoe, Ebenezer; Abdullah, Asm

doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105298

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The efficacy of the intervention (to deter or promote neglect) will also depend on the norms undergirding parenting and child care in Ghana. Furthermore, this study is useful in the Ghanaian context due to the growing evidence on the limitations within the child protection system in Ghana (Abdullah, Cudjoe, & Manful, 2020), especially in addressing child neglect cases (Abdullah et al, 2021; Awortwe et al, 2020). Parents in Ghana fail to report child neglect cases to child protection workers because they could be sanctioned by their families and communities for reporting to outsiders (Avendal, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dose–Response Relationship Between Protective Family Informal Social Control and Chronic Child Neglect: Does Household Size Matter?

Abdullah

Emery

2022

J Interpers Violence

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Larger households, involving more children, are theorized as potential risk factors for child maltreatment—resource dilution theory. But qualitative evidence shows that in collective societies, like Ghana, more adult family members may act against neglect, through protective informal social control, which helps to reduce the frequency of neglect. Family members intervention in neglect situations will be more consistent and sustained due to the sanctioned collective responsibility to care for children in the community. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that having more adult family members in the household, who have the will and agency to intervene, will predict less chronic neglect. A three-stage probability proportional to size cluster sample of Ghana was collected from 1,100 primary caregiving mothers. One mother was interviewed in each household, and responses were limited to one focal child. When sample was restricted to those with chronic neglect (neglect > 1), 596 mothers remained in the data. The children have experienced 11 times neglect in the past year, and lived in households with average size of 6 members. Chronic neglect was measured using the Conflict Tactics Scale. Dose–response protective informal social control by family members was measured using the newly developed context-based scale for measuring protective informal social control of child neglect (ISC_CM2). Results from the random effects regressions models showed a negative relationship between dose–response protective informal social control and chronic neglect, and the interaction with household size was negative and significant. Ghanaian families should be sensitized to take advantage of the communal living practices, extended family systems and compound housing structures, as traditional mechanisms to promote collectivity and interventions in observed acts of neglect to protect children. The evidence contradicts the resource dilution theory’s conceptualization of large household as risks factors of neglect.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dose–Response Relationship Between Protective Family Informal Social Control and Chronic Child Neglect: Does Household Size Matter?

Abdullah

Emery

2022

J Interpers Violence

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Though the cultural component (cf. Awortwe et al, 2020; Ayim et al, 2023) concurs with suggestions about context and the influence of culture on child neglect definition (Lonne, 2015), evidence on the thematic constructs identified in the only Ghanaian study that focused on parents' conceptualization of neglect (Manful & Abdullah, 2021) suggested that standard practices that support parents to meet the basic needs of children may contribute to reducing the amount of neglect in Ghanaian communities. Moreover, if these social support practices were ingrained in the culture and normative structure of communities, the effect could be greater.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…However, some studies identified nuances, including findings on contextual and cultural elements, such as concentrated poverty, inheritance expectations (Manful & Abdullah, 2021) and gendered norms (see Awortwe et al, 2020;Ayim et al, 2023, for further reading), as key variables that influence neglect in Ghana. Though the cultural component (cf.…”

Section: Child Neglect In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Findings from a recent study on the conceptualization of neglect revealed that most parents in Ghana understand child neglect as caregiver actions or inactions, including omission in care and failure to provide basic needs for children (Manful & Abdullah, 2021), which agreed with widely accepted definitions of neglect (Dubowitz et al, 2005). However, some studies identified nuances, including findings on contextual and cultural elements, such as concentrated poverty, inheritance expectations (Manful & Abdullah, 2021) and gendered norms (see Awortwe et al, 2020; Ayim et al, 2023, for further reading), as key variables that influence neglect in Ghana. Though the cultural component (cf.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Protective indigenous collective value of Ubuntu and child neglect: Implications for rural child protection practice

Abdullah

Bentum

Frederico

et al. 2023

Child & Family Social Work

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Theories on collective efficacy and social support suggest that indigenous values that support collective practices and sanction community obligations to childcare would be protective against child neglect. Likewise, new qualitative findings show that collective values are stronger in rural areas than in urban. This study tested the claims that the value of Ubuntu, which is a symbolic cultural value of ‘being for others’, will be protective against the likelihood of neglect; this relationship will be stronger in rural compared with urban communities in Ghana. Using data obtained from a nationally representative sample of 1100 mothers (from 22 communities) in Ghana, we tested the claims using fixed effects logistic regression. The Ubuntu norms were significantly endorsed in rural communities compared with the urban. The overall model showed that higher levels of Ubuntu are associated with lower odds of child neglect (OR .47, [.29, .76] p < 0.05), and the relationship remained significant only in the rural sample (OR .13, [.06, .31] p < 0.001). Similar evidence was recorded for the Ubuntu norms of community care and compassion. The results suggest that child protection in rural Ghana can be fruitful when interventions are developed to boost the value of Ubuntu and the norms of collective childcare.

show abstract

Parents’ Perceptions on the Outcomes of Children’s Participation in Child Protection Meetings in Ghana

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A reason for the unmet needs of children in contact with social services? Non-resident fathers’ perspectives on delinquent child maintenance claims

Cited by 7 publications

References 33 publications

Dose–Response Relationship Between Protective Family Informal Social Control and Chronic Child Neglect: Does Household Size Matter?

Dose–Response Relationship Between Protective Family Informal Social Control and Chronic Child Neglect: Does Household Size Matter?

Protective indigenous collective value of Ubuntu and child neglect: Implications for rural child protection practice

Parents’ Perceptions on the Outcomes of Children’s Participation in Child Protection Meetings in Ghana

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About