Differences and similarities between mothers’ and fathers’ risk factors for child maltreatment

Background: Parental risk factors play an important role in child maltreatment, however, little is known about the role of fathers’ risk factors. Objective: The current study aimed to compare fathers and mothers in terms of (1) the prevalence and impact of risk factors for perpetrating child maltreatment and (2) the interplay of risk factors. Participants: The Dutch sample consisted of 4090 mothers and 3973 fathers who had a newborn and received health-and developmental checks between October 2001 and November 2002. Methods: Risk factors were assessed using the Instrument for Identification of Parents at Risk for Child Abuse and Neglect (IPARAN) and child maltreatment was defined as a verified report at Child Protection Services in a period of 3-years following completion of the IPARAN. McNemar tests and network analyses were performed. Results: Results demonstrated that the majority of assessed risk factors were related to perpetrating future child maltreatment for both fathers and mothers. In general, risk factors were more prevalent in mothers than in fathers. Inability to ask for help was the risk factor that was most prevalent for both mothers (22.4%) and fathers (22%). The risk factors worries about raising the child, unhappy during pregnancy, and losing control when angry were more strongly related to future child maltreatment in mothers compared to fathers, whereas risk factors related to their own child maltreatment in the past and experiencing a lack of support were more impactful for fathers compared to mothers. For fathers and mothers, belief in physical punishment and risk factors related to their own history of child maltreatment were most central. Conclusions: Overall, these findings underscore the importance of considering the long-lasting, intergenerational effects of child maltreatment. Intergenerational trauma may put parents at a higher risk of becoming perpetrators; our network results confirm that these risk factors deserve an important spot in prevention efforts

Safety assessment in child welfare: A comparison of instruments

This review aimed to compare child safety assessment instruments, which are used by child welfare professionals to determine whether a child is in immediate danger, and subsequently, whether immediate action is required to stop or prevent serious harm to the child. We searched electronic databases for articles discussing child safety assessment in the broadest possible sense, after which child safety assessment instruments were identified by searching the full-text of relevant articles. In total, the search yielded 11 child safety assessment instruments that met the inclusion criteria. Six of these instruments were developed independently and thus included in the comparison, whereas the other five were variations of the Structured Decision Making model. The results of the comparison revealed a number of immediate child safety aspects that are measured in most safety assessment instruments, such as sexual abuse, neglect, physical abuse, domestic violence, refusing access to the child by caregivers, a caregiver’s substance abuse impairing capacity to supervise, protect, or care for the child, and describing and/or acting towards the child in a predominantly negative manner. This implies that these aspects may be content-valid even though the quality of the included instruments needs to be evaluated further. Remarkable was that most instruments and manuals do not define “immediate”, even though this aspect is central to (immediate) child safety which these instruments aim to assess. Further research on safety assessment instruments is essential, as most instruments are only practice-based. The next important step is to develop practice and evidence-based instruments