Dataset Information

Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: real or detection bias?

ABSTRACT: The literature has been contradictory regarding whether parents who were abused as children have a greater tendency to abuse their own children. A prospective 30-year follow-up study interviewed individuals with documented histories of childhood abuse and neglect and matched comparisons and a subset of their children. The study assessed maltreatment based on child protective service (CPS) agency records and reports by parents, nonparents, and offspring. The extent of the intergenerational transmission of abuse and neglect depended in large part on the source of the information used. Individuals with histories of childhood abuse and neglect have higher rates of being reported to CPS for child maltreatment but do not self-report more physical and sexual abuse than matched comparisons. Offspring of parents with histories of childhood abuse and neglect are more likely to report sexual abuse and neglect and that CPS was concerned about them at some point in their lives. The strongest evidence for the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment indicates that offspring are at risk for childhood neglect and sexual abuse, but detection or surveillance bias may account for the greater likelihood of CPS reports.

SUBMITTER: Widom CS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5308058 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: real or detection bias?

Widom Cathy Spatz CS Czaja Sally J SJ DuMont Kimberly A KA

Science (New York, N.Y.) 20150301 6229

The literature has been contradictory regarding whether parents who were abused as children have a greater tendency to abuse their own children. A prospective 30-year follow-up study interviewed individuals with documented histories of childhood abuse and neglect and matched comparisons and a subset of their children. The study assessed maltreatment based on child protective service (CPS) agency records and reports by parents, nonparents, and offspring. The extent of the intergenerational transm ...[more]

PMID: 25814584

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Project description:ImportancePoverty has long been associated with a higher risk for child maltreatment, and recent research suggests that income support policies are associated with reduced child abuse and neglect. However, income supports tied to employment cannot separate the associations of income from those of employment.ObjectiveTo estimate the short-term association of universal and unconditional income payments to parents with child abuse and neglect.Design, setting, and participantsIn this cross-sectional study, variation in the timing of the 2021 expanded child tax credit (CTC) advance payments was used to determine whether receiving unconditional income is associated with child abuse and neglect. A fixed-effects approach was used to compare child abuse and neglect before and after payments were made in 2021. The study compared 2021 trends with the same period in 2018 and 2019, during which no CTC payments were made. Participants were pediatric emergency department (ED) patients identified as experiencing child abuse or neglect at a level I pediatric hospital system in the Southeastern US from July through December 2021. Data were analyzed from July to August 2022.ExposuresTiming in the disbursement of the expanded CTC advance payments.Main outcomes and measuresDaily child abuse and neglect-related ED visits.ResultsDuring the study period, there were 3169 ED visits related to child abuse or neglect. The 2021 advance payments of the expanded CTC were associated with fewer child abuse and neglect-related ED visits. There was a decrease in these ED visits in the 4 days following the advance CTC payments, although the reduction was not significant (point estimate, -0.22; 95% CI, -0.45 to 0.01; P = .06). There were significant reductions in such ED visits among male children (point estimate, -0.40; 95% CI, -0.75 to -0.06; P = .02) and non-Hispanic White children (point estimate, -0.69; 95% CI, -1.22 to -0.17; P = .01). These reductions did not persist, however.Conclusions and relevanceThese findings suggest that federal income supports to parents are associated with immediate reductions in child abuse and neglect-related ED visits. These results are important for discussions of making the temporary expansion of the CTC permanent and are applicable to income support policies more broadly.

Dataset Information

Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: real or detection bias?

Publications

Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: real or detection bias?

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