Child Maltreatment. A Developmental Psychopathology Approach
Child Maltreatment. Child maltreatment was assessed using a multi-informant approach and with a combination of two questionnaires: the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC; Xxxxxx, Xxxxx, Xxxxxxxxx, Xxxxx, & Xxxxxx, 1998) and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Xxxxxxxxx et al., 1994; Xxxxxx et al., 2009). We administered four subscales: (1) physical abuse (13 items, CTSPC), (2) emotional abuse (five items, CTSPC), (3) physical neglect (four items, CTSPC), and (4) emotional neglect (six items, CTSPC and CTQ). The physical abuse scale can be further divided into minor (five items), severe (four items), and very severe (four items) physical abuse. For consistency in response options, a five-point scale ranging from (1) never to (5) (almost) always was used for all items. The scores on the four scales were averaged to achieve an overall ‘maltreatment’ score. Additionally, we calculated separate ‘abuse’ and ‘neglect’ scores. The ‘abuse’ score was the average of physical and emotional abuse and the ‘neglect’ score the average of physical and emotional neglect. For participants under 12 years of age, experienced maltreatment was assessed orally and questions about very severe physical abuse were omitted. For each parent-child dyad, we averaged parent- and child-report which were significantly correlated (abuse: r(73) = .46, p < .001; neglect: r(73) = .27, p = .02). For abuse items, Xxxxxxxx’s alphas were .87 for child report and .82 for parent report. For neglect items, the Cronbach’s alphas were .78 for child report and .72 for parent report. It should be noted that for the child report, three of the physical neglect items showed no variability because none of the children reported ever not having had enough food, that their parents did not take them to the doctor when needed, or that their parents were too drunk or high to take care of them. Maltreatment was used as a continuous variable.
Child Maltreatment. Child maltreatment is a major public health issue. The National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) identifies child maltreatment as any exposure to physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect or domestic violence. In the wider research literature, the terms "adverse childhood experiences" (ACEs), "victimization" and "trauma" have been applied in a more generic manner to refer to the aforementioned forms of abuse and neglect, as well as to other negative childhood experiences such as peer bullying, exposure to major traumatic life events and parental loss (Xxxxx, Sorrentino, Xxxxxx, & Xxxxxx, 2013). However, the most widely accepted definition of child maltreatment comprises child sexual abuse (CSA), child physical abuse (CPA), child emotional abuse (sometimes referred to as psychological abuse) and child neglect. Table 1 provides definitions for these forms of abuse and neglect (Xxxxxx et al., 2012). Currently, over 40,000 children in England are on the child protection register (Department for Education, 2012). Over 18,000 children are registered for being exposed to neglect, over 4,000 are registered for being exposed to CPA, over 2,000 are registered for exposure to CSA and over 12,000 are registered for exposure to emotional abuse. Global prevalence rates for child maltreatment remain uncertain, with estimates varying between 2% and 67% (Xxxxxx et al., 2012). These discrepancies are likely because much violence against children remains hidden and unreported due to fear and stigma, as well as due to a general societal acceptance of this type of violence. Table 1. Common definitions of child maltreatment resulting in, harm for the child’s health, survival, development, or dignity. This includes hitting, beating, kicking, shaking, biting, strangling, scalding, burning, poisoning, and suffocating. Much physical violence against children in the home is inflicted with the object of punishing.
Child Maltreatment. All personnel are mandated reporters of suspected child maltreatment and are required to call the Child Maltreatment Hotline at 0-000-000-0000 if they have reason to suspect child maltreatment.
Child Maltreatment. The Knowns and the Unknowns
