NCJ Number
237906
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 35 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2011 Pages: 876-886
Date Published
October 2011
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study investigated patterns of overlapping types of child maltreatment in a sample of urban youth identified as maltreated.
Abstract
The study found that four patterns of overlapping child maltreatment experiences existed among the sample of urban youth. In the first pattern, 33 percent of the cases involved physical abuse (PA) and 62 percent involved neglect (N), while in the second pattern, 100 percent of the cases experienced emotional abuse (EA) and 66 percent of the cases experienced PA. In the third pattern, 100 percent of the cases experienced both EA and N, and 59 percent of the cases experienced PA, while in the fourth pattern, 100 percent of the cases experienced sexual abuse (SA) along with majority levels of EA (62 percent), PA (58 percent), and N (73 percent). This study investigated patterns of overlapping types of child maltreatment in a sample of urban youth (n=303) identified as maltreated by a large public child welfare agency. The cases were clustered based on the existence of four types of child maltreatment: sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and neglect. Each of the clusters were evaluated on multiple outcomes, such as mental health, behavior problems, self-perception, and cognitive development. Analysis of the clusters found that youth who experienced multiple forms of maltreatment reported more externalizing problems, lower self-esteem, and less optimal cognitive development, while youth who experienced two or fewer forms of maltreatment showed lower levels of cognitive and developmental problems. The findings also show that boys who experienced multiple types of maltreatment were more adversely affected by the maltreatment than girls. These findings indicate a need for creating more complex models of child maltreatment based on multiple forms and experiences of maltreatment. Tables, figures, and references