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Child protection involvement of children of mothers with intellectual disability
- Authors:
- LIMA Fernando, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 126, 2022, p.105515.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Background: Children born to parents with intellectual disability (ID) have been shown as disproportionally represented in child protection services however with limited population-based research. Objectives: To investigate child protection involvement for children born to mothers with ID in Western Australia using linked administrative data. Participants and setting: A cohort of 1106 children born to a mother with ID and a comparison group of 9796 children of mothers without ID were identified in Western Australia. Methods: Cox regression analyses stratified by maternal Aboriginal status were conducted to investigate risk of child involvement with child protection services and care placement. Interaction with child age, intellectual disability status, and maternal mental health and substance use was investigated. Results: Children born to a mother with ID were both at higher risk of having contact with child protection services (HR: 4.35 (3.70-5.12)) and placement in out-of-home care (HR: 6.21 (4.73-8.17)). For non-Aboriginal children, the risks of child protection involvement and placement for those born to mothers with ID were 7 times and 12 times higher than those of mothers without ID. The risk was lower for Aboriginal children, at 1.8 and 1.9 times, respectively. Infants born to mothers with ID were at higher risk of child protection involvement compared to other age groups. Maternal mental health and substance use moderated the increased risk. Conclusions: Intellectual disability alone is not sufficient justification for removal of children from their parents. The challenge for family services is ensuring that resources are adequate to meet the family's needs. (Edited publisher abstract)
Evaluation of interprofessional training to strengthen communication and coordination among providers working with expectant mothers and infants affected by substance use
- Authors:
- WEST Allison, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 132, 2021, p.106331.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Providers across disciplines need knowledge, attitudes, confidence and resources to communicate and collaborate effectively when working with families with infants affected by substance use. This pre-post study assessed the acceptability, perceived utility, and preliminary outcomes of a hybrid online and in-person interprofessional training program for 104 providers working in child welfare, early intervention, and maternal and early childhood home visiting programs. Participants completed a baseline self-report pretest survey, a hybrid online and in-person training program, and a posttest survey. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired t tests; qualitative data from open-ended questions were analyzed using thematic coding. Quantitative data indicated improvements in knowledge and confidence across all provider types, and improvements in home visitor and early intervention providers’ perceptions of having the resources to collaborate with child welfare. Overall, the training was described as acceptable and useful. Findings provide initial support for interprofessional training to improve provider competence and collaborative capacity for working with families and infants affected by substance use. (Edited publisher abstract)
Supporting mother-infant dyads impacted by prenatal substance exposure
- Authors:
- DEUTSCH Stephanie Anne, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 129, 2021, p.106191.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Improving health and well-being of mothers, infants, and children represents a national public health priority, with emphasis placed on understanding how environmental and social determinants (access to quality health care, education, employment, economic opportunities, social support, and resource availability) influence maternal health behaviors and infant-child well-being. Substance use during pregnancy is a predominant maternal-infant health risk; many affected mother-infant dyads also face co-occurring psychosocial adversities, often necessitating social services-based interventions. Best practices to support infants exposed to substances across the medical, mental health, substance use, and social service sectors have historically been affected by heterogeneity of dyad needs, varied stakeholder perspectives, and limited cross-sector resource availability. Recent legislative changes designating a universal, family-centered, non-punitive, and supportive social services-based approach toward affected mother-infant dyads, known as Plans of Safe Care, offer a potential solution to comprehensively address diverse needs. This narrative review discusses current public health-based efforts and novel implementation of federally-funded family support programs, including Plans of Safe Care and Family First legislation, to address the multiple health and psychosocial adversities facing prenatally substance exposed mother-infant dyads. Opportunities for future research, including analysis of the impact of Plans of Safe Care and other policy interventions on dyad health and safety outcomes is explored. (Edited publisher abstract)
Financial hardship, neighborhood cohesion and child externalizing behaviors: an extension of the family stress model among immigrant mothers
- Authors:
- SAASA Sherinah, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 128, 2021, p.106153.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Research indicates heightened risk for financial, psychological, and emotional strain among immigrant families. Studies that examine the family stress model in concert with unique stressors associated with immigrant adjustment, such as community integration, are limited. Using a longitudinal framework, this study applied the family stress model on a sample of first-generation immigrant mothers (N = 831) to examine whether financial hardship and neighborhood cohesion impacted children’s externalizing behaviors via maternal depression and harsh parenting. Data came from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Financial hardship (OR = 1.36, p < .001) and neighborhood cohesion (OR = 0.65, p = .004) both predicted maternal depression. Maternal depression was not associated with harsh parenting (OR = 2.05, p = .259). Harsh parenting was not associated with child externalizing behaviors (b = 0.04, SE = 0.02, p = .363). Financial hardship (indirect effect: b = 0.22, SE = 0.06, p < .001) and neighborhood cohesion (indirect effect: b = -0.18, SE = 0.07, p = .007) predicted child externalizing behaviors via maternal depression. Findings suggest that interventions need to address economic, social environments, and parental mental health in efforts to reduce risk of developing problem behaviors among children of immigrants. (Edited publisher abstract)
Mothers as perpetrators and bystanders of child sexual abuse
- Authors:
- GERKE Jelena, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 117, 2021, p.105068.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Background: In research and literature, little attention has been paid to the role of women, especially mothers, in child sexual abuse. Objective: In order to estimate prevalences on mothers as perpetrators and bystanders, data was collected in a German nationwide representative survey. Participants and setting: A total of 2,531 participants (53.3 % female, 14−94 years) were selected by a random route procedure and questioned with a paper-pencil-questionnaire. Methods: The survey included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire as well as questions on the perpetrator-victim relationship, bystanders and the awareness within society on the topic of female-perpetrated child sexual abuse. Prevalences were calculated. Results: The prevalence of child sexual abuse (6.6 %) as well as the proportion of female perpetrators (6.6 %) determined in the current survey were low compared to the findings of previous studies. Within the group of female perpetrators, biological mothers accounted for a larger share than biological fathers in the group of male perpetrators. Among the bystanders, the biological mother was named most frequently (24.6 %). Conclusion: The general population underestimates the involvement of biological mothers in child sexual abuse. The results confirm that female perpetrators account for a rather small but substantial proportion of the perpetrators of child sexual abuse. Furthermore, the results indicate that mothers play a role in sexual abuse – either as perpetrators or as bystanders – that has been underestimated so far. It is therefore necessary to sensitize professionals and the public to the topic of female perpetrators and especially to the role of mothers in child sexual abuse. (Edited publisher abstract)
Factors associated with first and repeat births among females emancipating from foster care
- Authors:
- SHPIEGEL Svetlana, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 125, 2021, p.105977.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
This study examined the rates and correlates of first and repeat births in a national sample of females emancipating from foster care in the United States (N = 3,699). Data from the National Youth in Transition Database and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System were used to evaluate birth rates between ages 19 and 21, and explore the risk, protective, and child welfare factors associated with first and repeat births. Findings revealed that about 30% of females in the current sample had given birth between ages 19 and 21. Of these females, about one-third had at least one previous birth, generally between the ages of 17 and 19. Higher risk of both first and repeat births between ages 19 and 21 was associated with disconnection from school and employment, increased placement instability, and earlier exit from foster care. In contrast, lower risk of first and repeat births was associated with receiving educational financial assistance. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed. (Edited publisher abstract)
The effects of home visiting on mother-child interactions: evidence from a randomized trial using dynamic micro-level data
- Authors:
- CONTI Gabriella, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 115, 2021, p.105021.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Background: Home visiting programs constitute an important policy to support vulnerable families with young children. One of their principal aims is to improve infant-parent relationships, so a key measure of their effectiveness is based on observational measures of parent-children interactions. In the present study we provide novel evidence on the effectiveness of home visiting programs in improving mother-child interactions within a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the Pro Kind program. A major goal of the Pro Kind program is to promote child development by strengthening the intuitive parenting skills of mothers. On this basis, the following research question is addressed in this paper: What is the impact of the Pro Kind home visitation program on the quality of mother-child interaction? Methods: A randomly chosen subsample of the original sample was selected to participate on video recordings. This subsample of 109 mother-child dyads was videotaped during a 3-min typical play situation at the participants’ homes when the child was aged 25 months. We use a novel micro-coding system which allows us to examine how the intervention affected the dynamic feedback responses of both mothers and children in three key measures of behavior: orientation, positive contingency, and negative/lack of contingency. The analysis was conducted using a set of static probit models and dynamic cross-lagged panel probit models for each measure. Results: The intervention significantly improved the interactions between girls and their mothers, by increasing the prevalence of orientation and positive contingency (and reducing that of negative/lack of contingency). This was achieved by increasing both the persistence of positive behaviors and also the probability of switching from negative to positive behaviors in the treatment group. Mixed impacts were detected for boys. Conclusions: Overall, it can be said that the Pro Kind program has a positive impact on the quality of mother-daughter interaction. However, our findings might also influence the design and delivery of home visiting programs, to the extent that they suggest that more attention has to be devoted to the interactions between boys and their mothers. Furthermore, the results show the importance of careful dynamic modelling of interactions data from videotaped observations to have a more complete understanding of the effectiveness of home visiting programs. (Edited publisher abstract)
Services and support for mothers and newborn babies in vulnerable situations: a study of eight European jurisdictions
- Authors:
- LUHAMAA Katre, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 120, 2021, p.105762.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
European countries have a legal obligation to provide services to vulnerable families, and children must not be removed from their parents’ care unless no other viable measures are available. This paper examines whether and how eight jurisdictions provide necessary support and services to families with newborn babies who are considered to be at risk in the child protection system. The data consist of all judgments (n = 216) concerning care orders for 220 newborns for periods ranging from one to several years. The analysis shows that services are provided in an overall majority of the cases but with distinct differences between jurisdictions. These differences are not due to the type of child protection system. Furthermore, we cannot ascertain whether service provision follows parental problems, or identify similarities due to the special case of newborns. We conclude that there are huge knowledge gaps regarding both service provision and the effects of services. (Edited publisher abstract)
Mothers abused by intimate partners: comparisons of those with children placed by child protective services and those without
- Authors:
- TUTTY Leslie M., NIXON Kendra L.
- Journal article citation:
- Children and Youth Services Review, 115, 2020, p.105090.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
In Western Canada, 504 mothers with children 18 years and younger participated in a study of the impacts of intimate partner violence (IPV). Of these, 68 (13.5%) had children currently taken into either temporary or permanent care by child protective service (CPS). This exploratory secondary data analysis compares demographics, mental health/well-being, and protective mothering strategies of the mothers whose children were taken into care compared to those whose children were not to identify key characteristics associated with children being removed by CPS. The demographic characteristics that differentiated the groups most significantly were that mothers with children in care had more CPS involvement as children, themselves, and were less educated. No differences were found on the Severe Combined Abuse, Emotional, Harassment, or Total abuse as measured by the Composite Abuse Scale (CAS). However, mothers with children in care reported significantly more Physical Abuse (CAS). On the mental health measures, mothers with children in care reported significantly more psychological distress (SCL-10; with scores in the clinical range) and lower quality of life but no differences on depression (CES-D-10) or PTSD symptoms (PCL), neither in the clinical range. With regard to protective strategies, the women with children in care were more likely to remain with partners and to physically fight back. Implications of these findings are discussed. (Publisher abstract)
A systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions designed for mothers who experienced child sexual abuse
- Authors:
- LANGE Brittany C.L., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Child Abuse and Neglect, 104, 2020, p.104401.
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
Background: Past experiences of child sexual abuse (CSA) have been shown to have a pernicious effect on the parenting behaviors of mothers. As a result, interventions have been developed to address these effects. However, a systematic synthesis of the effectiveness of such interventions has not been conducted. Objective: To conduct a systematic review of existing literature on interventions that have been developed and evaluated for mothers who experienced CSA. Methods:Studies were located through a sensitive search strategy in nine academic databases and search engines, and through handsearching reference lists of included studies and their subsequent citations. Two authors independently completed screening, full text review, data extraction, and quality appraisal. Results: Searches revealed a paucity of literature, with four intervention studies located. All four interventions consisted of therapy, with three of these interventions using a group-based format. One of the included intervention studies used reiki as an adjunct to therapy. Decreases in negative mental health symptoms were reported through both validated measures and interviews. No validated measures to assess parenting were used in any intervention, though some qualitative results indicated changes in parenting. Qualitative results also suggested that most mothers were satisfied with the interventions. Studies were of limited quality - none used a randomized trial design, and only one a control group. Conclusions: Given the limitations of the identified intervention studies for mothers who experienced CSA, there is a clear need to develop evidence-based interventions for this population given the unique detrimental effects of CSA on parenting. Avenues for future intervention development are discussed. (Publisher abstract)