Dimensions of child maltreatment and children's adjustment: Contributions of developmental timing and subtype

Abstract

This investigation examined the dimensions of developmental timing, subtype, and severity of maltreatment and their relations with child adaptation. The 814 children who participated in a summer day camp, 492 of whom were maltreated and 322 of whom were nonmaltreated comparison children, were assessed by camp counselors on their internalizing and externalizing symptomatology, aggressive, withdrawn, and cooperative behavior, and on personality dimensions of ego resiliency and ego control, and were rated by peers on disruptive, aggressive, and cooperative behavior. The severity within each subtype of maltreatment and the developmental period in which each subtype occurred were examined through hierarchical regression analyses. Additionally, children with similar timing or subtype patterns were grouped to explore diversity in outcomes. Results highlighted the role of severity of emotional maltreatment in the infancy–toddlerhood period and physical abuse during the preschool period in predicting externalizing behavior and aggression. Severity of physical neglect, particularly when it occurred during the preschool period, was associated with internalizing symptomatology and withdrawn behavior. Additionally, maltreatment during the school-age period contributed significant variance after earlier maltreatment was controlled. Chronic maltreatment, especially with onset during infancy–toddlerhood or preschool periods, was linked with more maladaptive outcomes. The implications of measuring multiple dimensions for improving research in child maltreatment are discussed.

Genetic moderation of child maltreatment effects on depression and internalizing symptoms by serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), norepinephrine transporter (NET), and corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) genes in African American children

“…Among the maltreated children, 82.2% had experienced neglect, 56.5% had experienced emotional maltreatment, 30.3% had experienced physical abuse, and 8.1% had experienced sexual abuse. As is typical in maltreated populations (Bolger et al, 1998; Manly et al, 1994; 2001), the majority of children had experienced multiple subtypes of maltreatment. Specifically, 58.4% of the maltreated children had experienced two or more maltreatment subtypes.…”

The blind men and the elephant: Identification of a latent maltreatment construct for youth in foster care

“…One such example is the Maltreatment Classification System (Barnett, Manly, & Cicchetti, 1993), which was then updated with the Modified Maltreatment Classification System (MMCS, English, 1997). This classification system has been used across many studies (e.g., Bolger & Patterson, 2001; Manly, Kim, Rogosch, & Cicchetti, 2001), and results indicate that severity, classified in a number of different ways, accounts for a significant portion of variance in outcomes. However, it is also important to consider severity in light of other maltreatment dimensions.…”

The Role of Parental Distress in Moderating the Influence of Child Neglect on Maladjustment

“…Furthermore, evidence of specificity was found, as neglect predicted only internalizing problems once the covariance between internalizing and externalizing problems was taken into account, supporting our hypothesis. By partialling apart these two highly related outcomes, these results help to bring some clarity to the literature investigating particular sequelae of child neglect (Erickson and Egeland 2002; Manly et al 2001). Our finding of specificity is consistent with the emerging consensus among researchers that neglect more strongly impacts internalizing than externalizing problems (Hildyard and Wolfe 2002).…”

“…Hildyard and Wolfe (2002) concluded in their review that while neglected children are likely to display some externalizing problems, they are more appropriately characterized by their particularly high levels of internalizing, social, and emotional problems. Neglect is less likely than other types of maltreatment (e.g., physical and sexual abuse) to predict externalizing problems (Bousha and Twentyman 1984; Hoffman-Plotkin and Twentyman 1984; Manly et al 2001; Shields and Cicchetti 1998), and more likely than other types of maltreatment to predict internalizing problems (Erickson et al 1989; Manly et al 2001). This suggests that relations found between neglect and externalizing problems may be a product of the overlap between neglect and other maltreatment types.…”

“…Early childhood is the developmental period in which children are at the greatest risk for neglect (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Children Youth and Families 2010) and are most vulnerable to its negative effects, particularly to the impact of neglect on internalizing problems (Kaplow and Widom 2007; Manly et al 2001). Finally, the present study is also strengthened by the use of teacher reports of child adjustment as the outcome measure.…”