Child deaths attributed to abuse and neglect: An empirical study

This study of 267 child deaths associated with abuse or neglect in Texas during 1975 through 1977 suggests a number of indicators for identifying potential child fatalities. Families where abuse or neglect is implicated in a child fatality are characterized by small family size, young parents, and under-utilization of community support services. Over three-fourths of the families in the study had never come to the attention of the state's child protective services agency. In addition, when fathers were present in the home, they were as likely to be involved in the abuse or neglect as mothers. Neglect was implicated in the death of a child as often as abuse. The study suggests the need for further examination of child fatality profiles associated with abuse and neglect and increased community outreach efforts to provide support to high-risk families, The study also has implications for social policy decisions, particularly in relation to efforts to resist attempts to exclude neglect from child protective service responsibility.     

Elder Abuse and Neglect:

The study analyzes data from a 1987 survey of 1,137 adult protective service workers in forty states and Washington, D.C. A four-page questionnaire was mailed to obtain information on the perceptions and practices of those practitioners in dealing with cases of elder abuse neglect. Data were collected on the incidence of elder abuse, neglect, self-neglect, and exploitation; the observed frequencies of hypothesized causes of elder abuse and neglect in actual cases; barriers to service; the effectiveness of various methods of intervention; the outcomes of elder abuse and neglect cases; adn the perceived potential of community resources for reducing elder abuse and neglect.     

Child neglect and adolescent violence: examining the effects of self-control and peer rejection

Child maltreatment researchers have often suggested that experiences with child neglect have long-term, negative effects. Child neglect is thought to have particularly adverse effects on self-control, peer relations, and delinquency. In this research, we examine the relationship of child neglect with adolescent violence via self-control and peer rejection. Using prospective, longitudinal data from a community sample, we find that child neglect adversely affects peer rejection and violence. Neglected children were more likely to be rejected by their peers in early adolescence and were more likely to be violent later in adolescence. Contrary to theoretical predictions, child neglect was not a significant predictor of self-control. Implications for delinquency and child maltreatment researchers are discussed.     

Neglected voices: Lessons from forensic investigation following neglect

In the field of child maltreatment research, it is known that child neglect is a relatively neglected phenomenon. The current study addresses children's perceptions of neglect and the importance of taking into account the processes that children undergo while providing their perceptions. This qualitative study used thematic analyses of forensic investigations of children with external evidence suggesting high probability of neglect. The aim of the study is to characterize the manner in which children narrate their experiences and perceptions following neglect and what lessons can be learned from these narratives. Forensic investigations were carried out with fifteen children, five girls and ten boys, aged seven to twelve years. All of the suspects were the children's biological parents, nine mothers and six fathers. The narrative analysis of the children's interviews generated five themes. These predominant themes represent the children's experiences regarding the maternal or paternal neglect: (1) Difficulties identifying neglect; (2) neglect revealed as the narrative of family life unfolds; (3) loyalty to parents; (4) collective view (siblings and me); and (5) prominent feelings (hope for the future, fear, and sadness). This study has implications to understanding children's testimonies in cases of neglect and for welfare practices. The inability of children to verbalize the neglect they underwent in the initial interview contributes to the understanding of the importance of allocating resources to families and community services and not only relying on report-response strategies.     

Housing Policy and the Elderly

Subsidized senior high-rise apartments have tended to neglect the needs of an increasingly aged and frail resident population. Research demonstrates that this population has greater unmet needs than elderly who reside in traditional community housing. This paper makes the case for enriched senior high-rise apartments as a viable alternative for elders who need assistance in order to maintain an independent lifestyle.     

The neglected elder: a family systems approach.

Abuse and neglect of older adults is largely an invisible problem. Those who are vulnerable are often hidden from the public eye. Troubled families characteristically maintain an isolated existence and, therefore, the mistreatment of elders can occur without the knowledge of neighbors or interested community members. Factors that operate to keep the problem hidden include society's emphasis on family privacy, the victim's unwillingness or inability to report the problem, stereotypes about the aged, and denial (Quinn, 1986). Although the problem of abuse and neglect of elders is not as prevalent as child maltreatment, it is a significant societal problem in need of increased public awareness. This article will focus on the treatment of elder neglect within the context of the family.     

Understanding communities of neglectful parents: child caregiving networks and child neglect

This article focuses on family social networks and the community of caregivers of neglected children. If neglect is part of family functioning, who watches over the children? Using a case study approach, this study researched 12 children and their parents. Several concepts, such as multiple caregiving and kin keepers, revealed that study children were cared for by many people. Social network mapping used in this study indicated that families were not isolated from the larger community, had various forms of negative and positive social support, were low income, and were involved in substance abuse and domestic violence. Understanding the patterns that emerge from the complex web of family, friends, social service agencies, and the larger social community in which neglected children live can result in better community building.     

Child Abuse Prevention: The Community as Co-Worker

Much of the literature on community organization describes the efforts of a worker to enable a community to coalesce arouund an external enemy in order to resolve systemic service delivery problems. Based on the mid-point of a federally-funded child abuse prevention project, this article describes the roles of worker and community as colleagues in an effort to enhance the community's capacity to shape its own values and behaviors to reduce child abuse and neglect. This article poses a challenge to the social work education community to be more responsive to the potential of becoming a co-worker with the community, and to enhance the social worker's skills in defining strenghts rather than weakness of communities.     

Feasibility study for a survey measuring abuse and neglect of older adults

This feasibility study was prepared by Statistics Canada, under arrangement with the Strategic Policy Research Directorate, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). It investigates issues associated with conducting surveys of abuse and neglect of older adults in community and institutional settings in Canada. A roadmap is provided for the work ahead, including options for a sampling frame, collection approaches, estimated costs, and an activity schedule.     

Elder abuse and neglect

Elder abuse and neglect is a critical health care issue that must be brought to the attention of health care providers and older adults' family members. Adults older than 65 who live at home or in long-term care facilities may be at risk for abuse. Nurses should be aware of the causes, screening questions, symptoms of abuse, and resources in the community. Armed with information and a better understanding about the issue, nurses can minimize the devastating effects of abuse on older adults and their families.     

Disability and Discrimination in Statutory Child Protection Proceedings

Families headed by parents with intellectual disability [1] are among the most vulnerable in the community. Poverty, social isolation and the lack of adequate support services all threaten their well-being. People with intellectual disability who are parents must also contend with out-of-the-ordinary treatment in statutory child protection proceedings. Legal scholars writing mainly in the North American context cite cases in which the children of these parents have been removed despite lack of evidence of abuse or neglect, or when evidence was refuted or, indeed, even when the parent was shown to be providing adequate care. In cases of substantiated abuse and/or neglect, support has not been given to the parent or parents before their children were removed. In this paper, we describe these discriminatory actions and discuss the political, social and institutional conditions that have lead to such extreme consequences for people with intellectual disability who also happen to be parents.     

Child protection: Principles and applications

The protection of children worldwide requires a framework and criteria agreed upon by the international community. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the World Summit for Children have gone some way in setting out agreed minimum standards for children's survival, health and education and the minimum protection required by children against abuse, exploitation and neglect in war, at work or in the home. These principles need to be applied at a national as well as an international level. The current situation in Asian countries is presented and discussed.     

Prevalence of childhood abuse in mothers taking part in a study of parenting their own children

This paper describes the incidence of maltreatment histories in a community sample of mothers of one‐year‐old infants in Northern Ireland. The occurrence of five subsets of childhood maltreatment is examined: emotional abuse, emotional neglect, physical abuse, physical neglect and sexual abuse. Of the 201 women who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, 70 mothers (35%) reported that they had experienced one or more types of maltreatment during childhood. Forty‐eight mothers (24%) gave a history of being emotionally abused, 43 (21%) of emotional neglect, 27 (13%) of physical abuse, 20 (10%) of sexual abuse and 19 (10%) of physical neglect. Physical abuse was the only type of maltreatment which showed an association with maternal socio‐economic status, with a higher incidence reported amongst Occupational Classes 4 and 5 (lower supervisory and technical occupations and semi‐routine and routine groups). More than half of those with a history of abuse experienced more than one type of maltreatment (42 mothers or 60% of those reporting maltreatment). Differences in rates of incidence to more recent studies on younger adults are discussed, as well as implications for prevention and intervention. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multi‐type maltreatment and the long‐term adjustment of adults

Multi‐type maltreatment refers to the experience of more than one form of child maltreatment (sexual abuse, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, neglect and witnessing family violence). Researchers have largely ignored the presence of other types of child abuse and neglect when examining the adjustment problems associated with a particular form of maltreatment. The association between ‘multi‐type maltreatment’ and adjustment was explored in the current study. Retrospective data were obtained on (a) the degree to which maltreatment types co‐occurred, (b) childhood family characteristics and (c) adjustment problems in adulthood in an Australian self‐selected community sample (N=175). As hypothesized, a large degree of overlap was reported in the experience of the five types of maltreatment. Family characteristics—particularly family cohesion and adaptability—discriminated between respondents reporting single‐type and multi‐type maltreatment. Greater adjustment problems were associated with reports of a larger number of different maltreatment types. Multi‐type maltreatment should be recognized as a crucial aspect of the nature and impact of child maltreatment and considered in the development of programmes for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Community-Based M-Team Roles:

Recently, the elder abuse professional community has developed various models of multi-disciplinary team (M-teams) to handle difficult cases of elder abuse and neglect: hospital-based, family-practice, consortium, and community-based. Some professional literature is available about the hospital and family-practice models but none exists to date about consortium or community M-teams. This paper uses job analysis to describe one community-based M-team affiliated with four elder abuse agencies in Illinois. From the results, a picture of M-teams emerges in terms of the responsibilities, knowledge, and resources needed by teams to do their "jobs."     

Elder Abuse: Risk Factors and Use of Case Data to Improve Policy and Practice

ABSTRACT

Countering the generally reactive community approach to prevention and treatment of elder abuse, this study employs analysis of local elder abuse case data to estimate the incidence of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and to measure the risk factors, including co-location of other forms of abuse, that predict elder abuse in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The authors also compare the model of intervention used in Florida and elsewhere to best practice models that incorporate elements of domestic violence treatment models. They present a series of specific recommendations for improving local abuse data-collection, analysis, and training so that local policy makers, planners, and practitioners can make proactive, community-specific, culturally-sensitive preventive efforts effective. The findings and recommendations have direct relevance for policy and practice in any community in the United States.     

Community perceptions and foster care placement: A multi-level analysis

Signs of physical and social disorder in a community have the potential to influence the perceptions about community, which could, in turn, impact the decision making processes involved in child maltreatment investigations. While extant research has demonstrated a link between community context and child maltreatment rates, there is a dearth of research examining the potential relationship between social conditions in a community and the child welfare system's response to allegations of neglect. This study examined the relationship between child- and community-level characteristics and the decision to place a child in foster care. Two data sets were linked, one containing detailed observations of community conditions (e.g., cigarette and alcohol advertisements) and a second with individual child level information about child welfare investigations. Multilevel models allowed for the simultaneous understanding of child- and community-level characteristics. The results indicated strong associations between individual characteristics and foster care placement. The race or ethnicity of the child was a strong predictor of entry into foster care, and young children were much more likely to be placed in foster care than older children. Furthermore, community factors were also associated with placement into foster care. Specifically, the presence of litter and graffiti and the lack of security signage in a neighborhood appeared to impact the decision making process for foster care.     

Community as a factor in implementing interorganizational partnerships: Issues,constraints, and adaptations

This article reports findings from a community‐based study of collaboration among seven nonprofit human service agencies in a very low‐income urban neighborhood. The project, funded by a federal demonstration grant, was developed to prevent child abuse and neglect as an alternative to the existing public child welfare system. Findings suggest that privatization, funding uncertainties, and community‐level factors posed external stressors that constrained executives' ability to collaborate. The article identifies five key stressors, analyzes how each constrained the partnership, and then discusses specific adaptations made by executive leadership in political, technical, and interpersonal areas that facilitated strategic adjustment and realignment in a very complex interorganizational arrangement and set of relationships. Finally, implications are drawn for nonprofit managers, social policy, and nonprofit research.     

Elder mistreatment in urban India: a community based study

This study examined the extent and correlates of elder mistreatment among 400 community dwelling older adults aged 65 and above in Chennai, India. The prevalence rate of mistreatment was 14%. Chronic verbal abuse was the most common followed by financial abuse and the rate of physical abuse and neglect was similar. Among the mistreated, exactly half of them had experienced more than one type of mistreatment (multifaceted-mistreatment). With the exception of financial abuse, a significantly greater number of women experienced verbal and physical abuse as well as neglect compared to men. Adult children, daughters-in-law, spouses, and sons-in-law were the prominent perpetrators. The mistreated older adults were more depressed and less satisfied with life than those who were not mistreated. Logistic regression analysis revealed gender, social support, and subjective rating of physical health as significant factors associated with abuse.