Maltreatment: A lifespan view.

Abstract

Framework for Understanding MaltreatmentThe Framework for Understanding Maltreatment and its Negative Outcomes Across the Lifespan is presented in Figure 17.1. It introduces some general concepts and language that can be applied across the four life stages in an effort to facilitate comparisons and discussion. Risk factors. The framework lists the types of risk factors that have been associated with an increased likelihood of maltreatment of individuals with IDD. The factors are delineated into three broad categories: individual, social, and contextual, each of which span the four life stages. Brown et al. (1998) classified the risks for child maltreatment into four categories: (a) child characteristics, (b) parent characteristics, (c) family relationships, and (d) demographic variables. The individual category in our framework includes child characteristics, as in the Brown et al. (1998) model, as well as adolescent, adult, and elder adult characteristics, such as disability, gender, age, and race/ethnicity. The social category in our framework subsumes the parent characteristics and family relationships categories in the Brown et al. (1998) model as well as characteristics and/or relationships with siblings, peers, intimate partners, paid caregivers, and others at later life stages. The contextual category in our framework replaces the demographic category in the Brown et al. (1998) model with a broad category that includes family and community resources and supports. The risk factors specific to each life stage (childhood, adolescence, adulthood, elder adulthood), presented in Figures 17.2-17.5,