Neighborhood effects on the etiology of child maltreatment: a multilevel study
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the neighborhood effects
on the etiology of child maltreatment in light of ecological theory. This
study focuses on the neighborhood effects on child maltreatment after
controlling for individual and family level factors. Furthermore, it is one
of this study’s main goals to highlight the differences between the
etiological model for physical child abuse and that of child neglect. This
study utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent
Health, which has been designed to examine the causes of health-related
behaviors of nationally representative sample of early adults in the U.S.
between 2001 and 2002. A series of multilevel logistic regression analyses
is employed to address the effects of individual, family, and neighborhood
level factors on the risk of child maltreatment.
Results indicate that the prevalence rates of child neglect and
physical child abuse vary significantly across neighborhood units after
controlling for individual and family level factors. This study found that
average neighborhood socioeconomic status, violent crime rate, and
regional location are significantly associated with the neighborhood level
prevalence rate of each type of maltreatment. Furthermore, this study
shows that neighborhood effects moderate the impacts of individual and
family level factors on the risk of child maltreatment. Various child
characteristics are associated in the multilevel model of child maltreatment
and found to significantly contribute to parents’ overall risk of physically
abusing or neglecting their children, over and above the risk associated
with parent and family level factors. Separate models for physical child
abuse and child neglect are tested and compared, indicating that there are
distinctive etiological models for different types of maltreatment.
Lastly, methodological limitations of this study, implications for
social work practice, and recommendations for further research are
presented.
Department
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