Hidden Violence: How COVID-19 School Closures Reduced the Reporting of Child Maltreatment

Cabrera‐Hernández, Francisco; Padilla‐Romo, María

doi:10.47872/laer-2020-29-4s

Cited by 18 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Thirteen studies across seven countries, mainly using publicly available administrative data, suggest that referrals of potential abuse, neglect and maltreatment to child protective services were substantially lower during the COVID-19 pandemic than before COVID-19 measures were put in place 89–101. Thus, evidence indicates that COVID-19 has reduced child maltreatment referrals.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nurturing care during COVID-19: a rapid review of early evidence

et al. 2022

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ObjectivesThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes to family life, society and essential health and other services. A rapid review of evidence was conducted to examine emerging evidence on the effects of the pandemic on three components of nurturing care, including responsive caregiving, early learning, and safety and security.DesignTwo academic databases, organisational websites and reference lists were searched for original studies published between 1 January and 25 October 2020. A single reviewer completed the study selection and data extraction with verification by a second reviewer.InterventionsWe included studies with a complete methodology and reporting on quantitative or qualitative evidence related to nurturing care during the pandemic.Primary and secondary outcome measuresStudies reporting on outcomes related to responsive caregiving, early learning, and safety and security were included.ResultsThe search yielded 4410 citations in total, and 112 studies from over 30 countries met our eligibility criteria. The early evidence base is weighted towards studies in high-income countries, studies related to caregiver mental health and those using quantitative survey designs. Studies reveal issues of concern related to increases in parent and caregiver stress and mental health difficulties during the pandemic, which was linked to harsher and less warm or responsive parenting in some studies. A relatively large number of studies examined child safety and security and indicate a reduction in maltreatment referrals. Lastly, studies suggest that fathers’ engagement in caregiving increased during the early phase of the pandemic, children’s outdoor play and physical activity decreased (while screen time increased), and emergency room visits for child injuries decreased.ConclusionThe results highlight key evidence gaps (ie, breastfeeding support and opportunities for early learning) and suggest the need for increased support and evidence-based interventions to ensure young children and other caregivers are supported and protected during the pandemic.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nurturing care during COVID-19: a rapid review of early evidence

et al. 2022

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“…teachers' support, to peers and to school-based child protection resources [18]. However, comprehensive studies on the psychological or mental health, and social and economic impacts of COVID-19 measured on displaced communities are limited, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.…”

Section: Plos Global Public Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experiences of teachers and students on school closures and its consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nyarugusu refugee camp, Tanzania

Shayo,

Mubyazi,

Barongo

et al. 2024

PLOS Glob Public Health

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Tanzania has experienced several waves of COVID-19 since it was first detected in the country. During the first wave, Tanzania took several measures to prevent wider virus transmission with school closures being one of them. All areas and institutions were targeted, including the refugee camps in Kigoma region. Despite the abundant evidence generated in relation to the effects of the pandemic and associated school closures globally, there has been a paucity of literature exploring the experiences of teachers and students in humanitarian settings. We conducted a qualitative study to explore COVID-19 related school closures in Nyarugusu refugee camp. We aimed to describe teachers’ and students’ experiences and perceived consequences of school closures. In-depth interviews with teachers and students were conducted in September 2020 in Burundian and Congolese schools in the context of a cluster randomised trial of EmpaTeach, a school-based violence prevention intervention. A total of 44 individuals (29 teachers and 15 students) were interviewed. A phenomenological theoretical framework was used to guide the content analysis. Findings indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic was generally seen as frightening by refugees. Study participants understood the importance of school closures to prevent transmission of the virus, but various negative consequences were reported by both teachers and students. These included perceived mental health difficulties such as stress, depression and anxiety associated with the worry of infection, idleness, and disruption of education. Participants also perceived an increase in occurrences of early marriages and unplanned pregnancies, which they thought contributed to increased school dropout. Participants identified the main causes of such outcomes as a lack of parental supervision, children’s lack of restraint and poor character, and a lack of alternative teaching practices (such as online or remote learning) to keep the students busy while at home. Children were held accountable for their faults with little support from the adults. Our findings suggest that there is an urgent need to strengthen child protection programming to support children and their communities during emergencies and provides protective environments such as school and education. There is a critical need to develop preparedness plans for future pandemics to support child safety, academic development and wellbeing.

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“…Prior to the pandemic, maltreatment was a serious public health problem, with roughly 34 per 1000 adolescents in Canada involved in investigations for some form of maltreatment (e.g., psychological, physical, sexual, and/or neglect; Trocmé, 2010). Although reported incidences of maltreatment to children's aid services have decreased during the pandemic, researchers have cautioned this may be due to reduced access to typical reporting systems rather than a true decline in maltreatment (Cabrera-Hernández et al, 2020). In fact, given that many families are highly stressed and confined at home, there is strong reason to expect marked increases in child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic (Cuartas, 2020).…”

Section: Roles Of Family Stress Maltreatment and Affect Regulation Difficulties On Adolescent Mental Health During Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Roles of Family Stress, Maltreatment, and Affect Regulation Difficulties on Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19

Craig¹,

Robillard²,

Turner³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Purpose: This study examines the indirect effect of affect dysregulation and suppression on the associations between family stress from confinement, maltreatment, and adolescent mental health during COVID-19. We examined both adolescent and caregiver perspectives to yield a more well-rounded understanding of these associations. Methods: Using both adolescent (N = 809, Mage = 15.66) and caregiver (N = 578) samples, exposure to physical and psychological maltreatment, family stress from confinement, affect dysregulation, suppression, and youth externalizing and internalizing symptoms were measured in the summer of 2020, following three months of stay at home orders due to COVID-19. Results: We found that affect dysregulation partially accounted for the associations between family stress and psychological maltreatment on both internalizing and externalizing symptoms for youth and parent report. Suppression partially accounted for the associations between family stress and maltreatment on internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the youth sample, but only for internalizing symptoms in the caregiver sample. Conclusion: Understanding the family predictors of adolescents’ mental health concerns, and their underlying mechanisms, affect dysregulation and suppression, can help us target mental health interventions during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Hidden Violence: How COVID-19 School Closures Reduced the Reporting of Child Maltreatment

Cited by 18 publications

References 21 publications

Nurturing care during COVID-19: a rapid review of early evidence

Nurturing care during COVID-19: a rapid review of early evidence

Experiences of teachers and students on school closures and its consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nyarugusu refugee camp, Tanzania

Roles of Family Stress, Maltreatment, and Affect Regulation Difficulties on Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19

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