Multiple Types of Maltreatment: Behavioral and Developmental Impact on Children in the Child Welfare System

Abstract

Children entering the child welfare system have experienced some form of maltreatment, with the impact on behavior and development not always recognized. Complicating the impact is the number of maltreatment types and how many of each a child may have experienced. This study analyzes the relationship between the number of maltreatment events with behavior problems and developmental delays in a clinical sample of children involved with the child welfare system. Results indicate that challenging behaviors are the norm for these children, but do not vary with increased types of maltreatment events. The majority of these children have moderate to major developmental delays, with delays increasing with the number of events experienced. Implications are explored and applied to professional practice. Keywords child maltreatment, child welfare, trauma, neurodevelopment, child behavior During the last two decades, researchers have attempted to understand the impact of childhood adversity on children's behavior and development. Childhood adversity includes adversity within the community setting (natural disasters, war, neighborhood violence), victimization from nonfamilial perpetrators (peer and adult violence toward a child), and maltreatment within the familial system. Within the category of familial maltreatment, there are several factors that potentially influence behavior and development. These include the duration and severity of the maltreatment, the age of onset, and the different types of maltreatment events. A complex interactional effect between these factors either mitigates or exacerbates the impact on children's behaviors and development. The current study looks at one of the factors of maltreatment-the number of types of maltreatment that children experience-and the subsequent behavioral and neurodevelopmental impacts. When familial maltreatment reaches a level of "substantial risk of harm," children are often removed from the maltreating caregivers and harmful environment and placed with foster parents or relatives. Removal from an adverse environment and provision of safe placement is accompanied by the expectation of positive emotional, behavioral, and academic response from the child. When aberrant child responses continue in spite of best efforts, adult

Poly-traumatization and harmful behaviors in a sample of emergency department Psychiatric Intake Response Center youth

“…Results from hierarchical regression analyses find that childhood poly-victimization contributed largely to college adjustment more so than single victimization events alone. Considering the lack of studies on specific populations of children, and given the inconclusive results of the Richardson et al (2008) study, there is a need to study poly-traumatization, its risk factors for typology, and outcomes of poly-traumatization among one of the highest risk groups: Youth who present at a pediatric ED's psychiatric intake center with varying levels and types of behavioral, psychological, and familial problems.…”

“…The first focuses on the number of types of traumatization presented in one child as a risk factor for harmful outcomes such as suicide, violent behavior, and selfharm by employing logistic regression analysis. Many studies have employed regression and correlation analyses to estimate the association and risk of negative outcomes in relation to an exposure to a cumulative number of traumatization and/or victimization types (Cuevas et al, 2009;Gustafsson et al, 2009;Richardson et al, 2008;Romano et al, 2011;Turner et al, 2010). Although the number of co-occurring traumatization types are known to be an important risk factor for a number of negative outcomes, few studies have examined the occurrence of poly-traumatization within a pediatric population.…”

“…It is well-documented that not only is childhood victimization pervasive, the co-occurrence of multiple types of childhood victimization is prevalent Finkelhor, Ormrod, Turner, & Hamby, 2005a;Finkelhor, Turner, Ormrod, & Hamby, 2009;Richardson, Henry, Black-Pond, & Sloane, 2008;Turner, Finkelhor, & Ormrod, 2010). Childhood victimization is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression after controlling for previous mental health issues and family problems (Boney-McCoy & Finkelhor, 1996).…”

“…A study conducted by Richardson and colleagues with children presenting at a trauma center from the welfare system and other sources (adoptive parents, courts, and mental health referrals) examined maltreatment by neglect, exposure to substance abuse, exposure to domestic violence, physical abuse or sexual abuse, and its relationship to behavioral problems using one-way analysis of variance (Richardson et al, 2008). The authors focused on number of types of maltreatment and general association with behavioral problems and reported varying results focusing on the lack of an association between increased types of maltreatment and behavioral problems.…”

Title IV-E Child Welfare Training and University Partnerships: Transforming State Child Protection Services into a Trauma-Informed System

“…Traumatic experiences have both short-term and long-term effects upon children, often lasting into their transition into adulthood. Research indicates a clear pathway between childhood trauma and both acute and chronic manifestations of cognitive, emotional, psychiatric, relationship, social, and health outcomes (Richardson, Henry, Black-Pond & Sloane, 2008). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has conducted decades of research investigating the public health repercussions of Adverse Childhood Experiences (Feletti & Anda, 2014).…”