NCJ Number
246950
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 37 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2013 Pages: 712-715
Date Published
September 2013
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Direct questions on child maltreatment in population-based surveys are often limited by ethical and methodological issues.
Abstract
Direct questions on child maltreatment in population-based surveys are often limited by ethical and methodological issues. This restricts the ability of researchers to examine an important aspect of early adversity and its relationship to health and behavior. An alternative to excluding issues of maltreatment entirely in population-based surveys is to include questions on child and family involvement with child protective services CPS. A school-based adolescent survey that included a question on child and family involvement with CPS yielded results that were generally consistent with other studies relating child maltreatment to health and behavioral outcomes such as psychological distress symptoms, delinquency, aspects of bullying, and health service utilization. Such findings suggest that questions on involvement with CPS may be a reasonable proxy for child maltreatment. Despite the lack of information on the reason for involvement or specific categories of maltreatment, CPS involvement questions highlight the shared familial experience that surrounds CPS involvement and serves as a general reflection of an adverse experience that can be utilized by researchers interested in early experiences.