Search

Family services providers and researchers have a great need for efficient and valid assessment instruments. This secondary analysis explored whether the validity of a brief observational screener of mother-child interactions would be supported with self-report data concerning family functioning. A subset of participants in the Illinois Families Study (n = 193; 75% African American) was observed in interaction with their children (ages 0–5) in their homes. Parent-child relationship qualities were assessed with eight items from the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory-Infant/Toddler version, presented as a new Affection subscale of the HOME. Exploratory multivariate analyses indicate neighborhood disorder, mothers' emotional disengagement, stress, and spanking were significant predictors of in-home observations. Implications for the utility of a brief screener for parent-child interactive behavior are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between receipt of child care subsidies and child maltreatment investigations in a sample of low‐income mothers in Illinois. We expected that receiving child care subsidies would have a protective effect on child maltreatment risk and therefore decrease the likelihood of child protective services investigations. Using structural equation modelling, we tested the direct and indirect paths of the receipt of child care subsidies to physical abuse or neglect. We found only direct effects of receiving child care subsidies on both physical abuse and neglect investigations. The findings suggest an important protective role of child care subsidies in the lives of low‐income families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parental history of childhood maltreatment victimization is a widely studied risk factor for child maltreatment perpetration, a process referred to as the intergenerational transmission of child maltreatment (ITCM). Using a sample of mothers receiving welfare in Illinois, we examined how maternal history of physical abuse and neglect was associated with perpetration of physical abuse and neglect against mothers' own children. In addition, we investigated whether the mediating effects of depressive symptoms on ITCM differ by subtype of maltreatment using PROCESS Macro analyses as developed by Hayes (2017).We found that maternal physical abuse history increased the risk of offspring physical abuse and neglect; maternal neglect history was associated with offspring neglect only. In addition, we found that mothers' depressive symptoms mediated the associations of neglect and physical abuse victimization with perpetration of physical abuse; depressive symptoms did not explain any aspect of neglect perpetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 80% of the over 3 million reports of child maltreatment each year are due to concerns of child neglect (United States Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2015). The literature is growing, but relatively little is known about the predictors of the subtypes of neglect. The current study uses data from the Illinois Families Study to run fixed effects logistic regression models to estimate the predictors of two distinct forms of neglect: basic needs (failure to provide adequate food, clothing, or shelter) and supervisory (failure to provide adequate supervision). Within individual mothers, welfare receipt was associated with increased odds for basic needs neglect. Having worsening health conditions, gaining more child care concerns, and moving from a safe neighborhood to an unsafe neighborhood were positively associated with supervisory neglect. Our findings suggested that policies and practices that enhance economic stability over a longer period would likely decrease basic needs neglect, while policies and practices that aim to support families in terms of providing flexible childcare options for working mothers, improving socioeconomic status, and promoting health and wellness would be more beneficial for reduction of supervisory neglect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs four waves of survey data on 1,135 families from the Illinois Families Study, a longitudinal panel study of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in Illinois. This study explores the following issues within this low-income population: (1) whether material hardships are associated with child protective services (CPS) investigations, (2) whether the effect of material hardship on CPS differs by the type of child maltreatment investigated, and (3) whether psychological distress mediates the association between material hardship and CPS involvement. Results from pooled and fixed effects logistic regressions suggest that caregivers who experience material hardship are more likely to become involved in CPS. In general, investigated neglect reports are responsive to particular types of hardship such as housing and food, while investigated physical abuse reports are responsive to levels of hardship regardless of specific types. The association between material hardship and CPS involvement is not fully explained by depressive symptoms or parenting stress. The study results suggest that in order to prevent child maltreatment, it may be necessary to address a family's unmet material needs through economic support interventions., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)