NCJ Number
191106
Journal
Child Maltreatment Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 281-289
Date Published
November 2001
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This study examined the risk for abuse and neglect of children who co-resided with father surrogates.
Abstract
Longitudinal data was used to determine the risk of child maltreatment of children who co-resided with husbands or boyfriends not biologically related to the child. This data was compared to children who were living with both biological parents or with single mothers who did not live with unrelated partners. North Carolina’s Central Registry for Child Abuse and Neglect was used to determine the maltreatment history of children from birth to 8 years old. Results showed that children who had a father surrogate living in the home were twice as likely to be reported for maltreatment after his entry into the home than those with either a biological father or no father figure in the home. The significant effect of the co-residence of nonbiological father figures persisted after adjusting for controls and potential confounders, especially those variables that predicted a child maltreatment report in previous analyses of these data, namely maternal depression, number of siblings, receipt of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and maternal education. It was concluded that the presence of a nonbiological father figure in the home should be considered a significant predictor of a future child maltreatment report. Greater attention should be focused on interventions to reduce the risk associated with the presence of nonbiological father figures in the home. 3 tables, 60 references