Measuring the severity of child maltreatment

Litrownik, Alan J.; Lau, Anna S.; English, Diana J.; Briggs, Ernestine C.; Newton, Rae R.; Romney, Stephanie; Dubowitz, Howard

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.08.010

Cited by 161 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…first episode was neglect and recurrent maltreatment was abuse) (Higgins & McCabe, 2001). Large scale prospective studies such as the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) may help to identify the best classification scheme for co-occurring maltreatment types Litrownik et al, 2005) as well as disentangle the predictors of abuse and neglect recurrence. Second, the scoring of the risk assessment items (no risk/any risk) may have also impacted our findings; however, risk ratings are highly subjective and ratings vary widely from caseworker to caseworker (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Risk Assessment to Predict Recurrent Maltreatment: A Classification and Regression Tree Analysis (CART)

et al. 2008

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Research has suggested that recurrent maltreatment may be best predicted by a combination of factors that vary across families. The present study set out to determine whether a pattern-centered analytic approach would better predict families at high risk for recurrence when compared to logistic regression methods. Archival data from substantiated investigations during 2003 were collected from a Connecticut Department of Children and Families county branch. Families (n=244) with a substantiated index case were followed for 18 months to identify the presence of additional substantiated cases within the CPS system. Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analyses revealed that prior CPS involvement was the best predictor of recurrent maltreatment. Further, risk items that were associated with recurrence were different for families with and without previous CPS investigations. Families with only prior unsubstantiated CPS investigations and poor child visibility within the community were at high risk for recurrence. Families without prior CPS involvement that were not actively involved in case planning and had a history of domestic violence were at high risk for recurrence. These findings suggest that pattern-centered analyses may be a useful approach to informing site-specific predictors of maltreatment recurrence by creating clear decision points that delineate high risk subgroups.Keywords child abuse and neglect; recurrent maltreatment; risk assessment; classification and regression tree analysis The primary goal of child protective services (CPS) is to reduce the likelihood of child maltreatment and its recurrence by providing appropriate services to families (Brookes & Webster, 1999); however, approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of families will have a recurret episode of maltreatment with subsequent reentry into the CPS system (DePanfilis & Zuravin, 1998;DePanfilis & Zuravin, 1999; Fluke, Shusterman, Hollinshead, & Yuan, 2005;Inkelas & Halfon, 1997). Risk assessment instruments were developed to aid caseworkers in identifying children who were at high risk for future abuse and neglect (Cash, 2001;Jagannathan & Camasso, 1996;Johnson & L'Esperance, 1984;Pecora, 1991). Although these assessments are now routinely administered during CPS investigations in 42 states (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2003); there remains no standard risk assessment model that clearly informs caseworker case planning and management (Schwalbe, 2004 Camasso & Jagannathan, 1995; Fluke et al., 2005;Hindley, Ramchandani, & Jones, 2006;Johnson & L'Esperance, 1984;Marks & McDonald, 1989;McDonald & Marks, 1991). Families are classified as low, moderate, or high risk for recurrence based on caseworker ratings of these items. An early review comparing eight risk assessment instruments (McDonald & Marks, 1991) found that perpetrator access predicted recurrent maltreatment in three prospective studies (Baird, 1988;Johnson & L'Esperance, 1984; Weedon, Torti, & Zunder, 1988) and a large family size predicted reabuse in two prospective ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Risk Assessment to Predict Recurrent Maltreatment: A Classification and Regression Tree Analysis (CART)

et al. 2008

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“…Also, the detailed analyses of the effects of different severity levels of maltreatment on children are practically missing [4].…”

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confidence: 99%

Parental violence and adolescent mental health

Peltonen

Ellonen

Larsen

et al. 2010

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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Being the target of parental violent acts decreases child adjustment and increases the likelihood of mental health problems in childhood and adolescence. Our study analyses how different types of parental violence ranging from verbal threats and swearing to hitting and kicking a child, are associated with child adjustment, indicated by strengths and difficulties scale (SDQ) total problem score, internalizing and externalizing problems as well as prosocial behaviour. We also study whether girls and boys and youths in two Nordic countries respond differently to parental violence. The data consists of a large-scale community sample of 15–16-year old Finnish (n = 5,762) and Danish (n = 3,943) adolescents. The representative data of continental Finland and its Finnish and Swedish speaking ninth graders as well as representative data of Danish ninth grade pupils were collected by the Police College of Finland and in Denmark by the National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark. The results show a clear dose–response effect between parental violent behaviour and the adolescent’s problems. The more severe forms of parental violence were associated with higher levels of SDQ total difficulties and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. There was also a connection between parental violence and the deterioration of prosocial behaviour. The association was gender and nationality specific. The findings imply a high prevalence of parental violence and adverse mental health among the affected Finnish and Danish adolescents. Though the laws have been set in motion to prevent the use of parental physical violence the challenges remain in several domains of child protection, general health care, prevention and intervention

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“…Litrownik et al, 2005). One possibility is that, in addition to measuring physical abuse (as indicated by the strong correlation with the CTQ physical abuse scale), the physical victimization subscale may also capture more 'normative' parental behaviours (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial Validation of a Brief Pictorial Measure of Caregiver Aggression

et al. 2015

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In the present study, we report on the development and initial psychometric properties of the Family Aggression Screening Tool (FAST). The FAST is a brief, self-report tool that makes use of pictorial representations to assess experiences of caregiver aggression, including direct victimization and exposure to intimate partner violence. It is freely available on request and takes under 5 minutes to complete. Psychometric properties of the FAST were investigated in a sample of 168 high-risk youth aged 16 to 24 years. For validation purposes, maltreatment history was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire; levels of current psychiatric symptoms were also assessed. Internal consistency of the FAST was good. Convergent validity was supported by strong and discriminative associations with corresponding Childhood Trauma Questionnaire subscales. The FAST also correlated significantly with multi-informant reports of psychiatric symptomatology. Initial findings provide support for the reliability and validity of the FAST as a brief, pictorial screening tool of caregiver aggression.

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Measuring the severity of child maltreatment

Cited by 161 publications

References 31 publications

The Use of Risk Assessment to Predict Recurrent Maltreatment: A Classification and Regression Tree Analysis (CART)

The Use of Risk Assessment to Predict Recurrent Maltreatment: A Classification and Regression Tree Analysis (CART)

Parental violence and adolescent mental health

Initial Validation of a Brief Pictorial Measure of Caregiver Aggression

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