Child Abuse and Neglect in the UK Today

This report presents new research findings from the NSPCC on child maltreatment in the United Kingdom, looking specifically at the prevalence and impact of severe maltreatment. We found that the rates of child maltreatment reported by young adults aged 18–24 were lower in 2009 than in 1998, suggesting maltreatment may be less prevalent today. However, significant minorities of children and young people in the UK today are experiencing severe maltreatment and this is associated with poorer emotional wellbeing, self-harm, suicidal ideation and delinquent behaviour

Childhood maltreatment, psychological resources, and depressive symptoms in women with breast cancer.

Childhood maltreatment is associated with elevated risk for depression across the human lifespan. Identifying the pathways through which childhood maltreatment relates to depressive symptoms may elucidate intervention targets that have the potential to reduce the lifelong negative health sequelae of maltreatment exposure. In this cross-sectional study, 271 women with early-stage breast cancer were assessed after their diagnosis but before the start of adjuvant treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, endocrine therapy). Participants completed measures of childhood maltreatment exposure, psychological resources (optimism, mastery, self-esteem, mindfulness), and depressive symptoms. Using multiple mediation analyses, we examined which psychological resources uniquely mediated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and depressive symptoms. Exposure to maltreatment during childhood was robustly associated with lower psychological resources and elevated depressive symptoms. Further, lower optimism and mindfulness mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and elevated depressive symptoms. These results support existing theory that childhood maltreatment is associated with lower psychological resources, which partially explains elevated depressive symptoms in a sample of women facing breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. These findings warrant replication in populations facing other major life events and highlight the need for additional studies examining childhood maltreatment as a moderator of treatment outcomes

Does quantitative research in child maltreatment tell the whole story? The need for mixed-methods approaches to explore the effects of maltreatment in infancy

Background and Aims. Research on child maltreatment has largely overlooked the under-five age group and focuses primarily on quantitative measurement. This mixed-methods study of maltreated children (N = 92) entering care (age 6–60 months) combines a quantitative focus on the associations between care journey characteristics and mental health outcomes with a qualitative exploration of maltreatment in four different families. Methods. Care journey data was obtained from social care records; mental health and attachment assessments were carried out following entry to care; qualitative data comprised semistructured interviews with professionals, foster carers, and parents. Results. Significant associations were found between suspected sexual abuse and increased DAI inhibited attachment symptoms (p = 0.001) and between reported domestic violence and decreased DAI inhibited (p = 0.016) and disinhibited (p = 0.004) attachment symptoms. Qualitative results: two themes demonstrate the complexity of assessing maltreatment: (1) overlapping maltreatment factors occur in most cases and (2) maltreatment effects may be particularly challenging to isolate. Conclusions. Qualitative exploration has underscored the complexity of assessing maltreatment, indicating why expected associations were not found in this study and posing questions for the quantitative measurement of maltreatment in general. We therefore suggest a new categorisation of maltreatment and call for the complimentary research lenses of further mixed-methods approaches

A Template Analysis of Intimate Partner Violence Survivors’ Experiences of Animal Maltreatment: Implications for Safety Planning and Intervention

This study explores the intersection of intimate partner violence (IPV) and animal cruelty in an ethnically diverse sample of 103 pet-owning IPV survivors recruited from community-based domestic violence programs. Template analysis revealed five themes: (a) Animal Maltreatment by Partner as a Tactic of Coercive Power and Control, (b) Animal Maltreatment by Partner as Discipline or Punishment of Pet, (c) Animal Maltreatment by Children, (d) Emotional and Psychological Impact of Animal Maltreatment Exposure, and (e) Pets as an Obstacle to Effective Safety Planning. Results demonstrate the potential impact of animal maltreatment exposure on women and child IPV survivors’ health and safety

Repeat Maltreatment in Alaska: Assessment and Exploration of Alternative Measures

Most deaths and serious injuries among children who are abused or neglected are preceded by multiple reported instances of maltreatment. The Office of Children Services (OCS), Alaska’s child protection agency, is very concerned about repeat maltreatment. It’s extremely damaging to children and demoralizing to everyone who tries to help prevent it. Over the last several years, Alaska has consistently had among the highest rates in the country of repeat child maltreatment, as reported by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Those federal figures measure the percentage of children who were the victims of at least two substantiated reports—that is, confirmed reports—of maltreatment within six months. In 2009, nearly 10% of children who were the subjects of investigation by OCS were reported as suffering repeat maltreatment, compared with less than 6% nationwide. By 2013, the share in Alaska was at nearly 13%, compared with a national rate of less than 5.5% (Figure S-1). But even those grim federal statistics don’t provide a complete picture of repeat child maltreatment in Alaska. Many analysts believe that not all cases where maltreatment may have occurred are substantiated, and that maltreatment of a child may be reported a number of times, over a longer period, before it is substantiated. Also, for various reasons, many reports of maltreatment are not investigated at all, in Alaska and other states, and only a small share of those that are investigated are substantiated. For example, in Alaska in 2013, 42% of reports in an average month were not investigated, and only 12% of reports were substantiatedExecutive Summary / Introduction / Definition of repeat maltreatment: some challenges / Data / Findings / Varying the indicator / Varying time periods / Demographics of repeatedly maltreated children / Discussion / Limitations and suggestions for future research / Conclusion / Reference

Updated Trends in Child Maltreatment, 2013.

New national data for 2013 show continued declines in child maltreatment, after a one year discontinuity (2012) in which some rates briefly increased. But from 2012 to 2013, sexual abuse declined 4%, physical abuse declined 3%, child maltreatment fatalities declined 7% and overall substantiated child maltreatment declined 1%. Neglect by contrast rose 1%

Updated trends in Child Maltreatment, 2012.

National statistics from 2012 showed increases in some forms of child maltreatment for the first time in many years. While overall substantiated child maltreatment was flat from 2011 to 2012, there was a 2% rise in sexual abuse and a 5% rise in physical abuse. Neglect declined 3%, but child maltreatment fatalities rose 4% from 1557 to 1620

Updated Trends in Child Maltreatment, 2008.

Recently released national child maltreatment data for 2008 show a generally encouraging situation during the first year of the serious recession that began in late 2007. Overall substantiated child maltreatment declined 3% from the previous year, including a 6% decline in sexual abuse. Child maltreatment fatalities stayed stable

Updated Trends in Child Maltreatment, 2010.

Even in the midst of continuing difficult economic times, 2010 national statistics showed no increase in child maltreatment. Overall substantiated child maltreatment actually declined 1% from 2009 to 2010, including a 3% decline in sexual abuse and a 2% decline in physical abuse. Child maltreatment fatalities also declined 8%, but some known administrative changes af‐ fected the rates