Longitudinal Study of Modifying Influences in the Relationship Between Domestic Violence and Child Maltreatment

• NCJ Number: 200695
• Journal: Family Violence Volume: 18 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2003 Pages: 5-17
• Author(s): Christine E. Cox; Jonathan B. Kotch; Mark D. Everson
• Date Published: February 2003
• Length: 13 pages
• Grant Number(s): 90-CA1467
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Health and Human Services
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For other documents in this series, see NCJ-200694 and NCJ-200696-99.

Annotation

This study examined the roles of risk and protective factors in the relationship between domestic violence and being reported to the Department of Social Services for child maltreatment.

Abstract

This study was based on a purposive sample of low socioeconomic status, high-risk families who are participants in the Southern LONGSCAN site study. Two waves of data, age 6 and age 8, were used in the study. The sample included 219 families who completed the age-6 interview with a mother figure as the caregiver respondent. Of these 219 families, 184 were reinterviewed 7 to 30 months later, when most of the children were 8 years old. Maternal caregivers participated in a 2-hour face-to-face interview conducted by trained interviewers. The interview focused on measures of demographics, maternal functioning, life events, and the child's behavior. Children were administered measures of cognitive development, psychological functioning, witnessed violence, and support received from significant adults. The study found a significant degree of overlap between domestic violence and child maltreatment, confirming the findings of previous research. The risk for child maltreatment associated with domestic violence was compounded by risk factors such as young caregiver's age, low education, low income, and lack of the social support network provided by attachment to a religious community. Of particular significance were the findings of a lower risk of child maltreatment associated with the caregiver's separation from a partner only in the context of domestic violence, as well as the lower risk associated with the amount of support the child reported receiving from the mother only in the context of domestic violence. These findings suggest that although disruption in the caregiver's primary relationship by itself significantly increased the risk of child maltreatment, a separation had the effect of lowering the risk for maltreatment when it occurred in the context of domestic violence. The limitations and strengths of this study are discussed. 3 tables and 69 references