Browsing by Subject "child maltreatment"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Approaches to Child Protection Case Management for Cases Involving People with Disabilities
    (Child Abuse and Neglect, 2006-04) Lightfoot, Elizabeth; LaLiberte, Traci
    Objectives: This exploratory study examines the delivery of child protection services by county child protection agencies involving cases with a family member with a disability. Method: Telephone surveys were conducted with the directors or their designees of 89% of the child protection agencies in a Midwestern state. Respondents were asked about the policies and/or procedures for approaching cases involving a person with a disability and the barriers and strengths agencies have in serving people with disabilities. Results: Only 6.7% of respondents reported their agency had a written policy related to serving persons with a disability. There were 18 different approaches to serving clients with a disability within child protection, with the most common being informally teaming for information, dual case assignment, and teaming with an outside consultant. Five counties had specialty workers who were experts in both child protection and disability. Barriers reported varied between rural and non-rural counties, with the most important barriers being lack of resources, lack of knowledge regarding disabilities, systems conflicts, and rural issues, such as lack of providers and lack of transportation. Strengths included accessing and coordinating services, individualizing services, good collaboration and creativity. Conclusion: While few county agencies had any written policies, both formal and informal collaboration is happening at the individual level. The lack of standardization in providing services indicates a need for more attention to issues regarding disability within child protection, including more training for workers, the development of models of collaborative case management and the removal of systemic barriers.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Emotional Abuse and Emotional Neglect in Childhood: Subtypes, Ecological Correlates, and Developmental Tasks of Emerging Adulthood
    (2015-06) Clarke, Stephanie
    Theoretical and empirical work indicate that childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM), despite persistent views that it is not as widespread or damaging as other forms of childhood maltreatment, is alarmingly common and exacts lasting consequences over youth and into adulthood. Despite these findings, empirical and social attention to CEM lags behind other forms of childhood maltreatment. With a large, diverse college student sample, this endeavor employed a developmental psychopathology perspective to (Study 1) examine CEM subtypes, (Study 2) document ecological correlates of childhood emotional abuse (CEA) and childhood emotional neglect (CEN), and (Study 3) examine associations between CEM experiences and current functioning on stage-salient tasks of emerging adulthood, with a focus on attachment theory to guide possible mediators of these relationships. First, this project responded to ongoing debate in the literature regarding conceptual and operational definitions of CEM subtypes (Study 1), providing evidence through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis for CEN and CEA subtypes. Next, (Study 2) examination of shared and unique ecological correlates associated with CEN and CEA, with a focus on family characteristics and processes, were examined. With all predictors in a single model, correlates unique to CEN included challenges to parenting, such as single parent households or children who were raised in foster care or by other family members. Factors unique to CEA included patterns of family interactions marked by hostility and negativity. Finally, (Study 3) examined the association between retrospective reports of CEM experiences and current functioning in three domains of stage-salient, developmental tasks of emerging adulthood particularly relevant to a college student sample, including academic and intellectual functioning, conduct (i.e., crime and problematic expressions of anger), and social competence. Due to a large proportion of, and differences found for, participants identifying as Asian, separate analyses were carried out for participants identifying as Asian and non-Asian (i.e., participants identifying as white, black, or Hispanic/ Latino). For non-Asian participants, higher levels of CEA were associated with both measures of conduct (crime and problematic expressions of anger), but not with perceptions of academic or social competence. For Asian students, on the other hand, CEA did not predict conduct, but did predict academic functioning, especially for females, and social competence. For non-Asian participants, higher levels of CEN predicted academic competence, particularly for black males, and social competence. For Asian participants, CEN predicted crime (particularly for those who had experienced sexual and/or physical abuse) and social competence (particularly for males with a history of physical abuse). Guided by attachment theory, hypothesized mediators of the relationship between reported CEM experiences and current functioning included self-esteem (CEA and perceptions of academic competence), emotion dysregulation (CEM and conduct), and current parent attachment with regard to alienation (CEM and perceptions of social competence and friendships). Findings for Asian students (but not non-Asian students) supported the hypothesized mediation of the relationship between CEA and perceptions of academic competence by self-esteem. Findings across all ethnicities supported the mediation of the relationship between CEM (CEA, in particular) and conduct (problematic expressions of anger) by emotion dysregulation (in particular, impulse control). Finally, the hypothesized mediation of the relationship between CEM and social competence by current ratings of parent attachment was found for Asian participants only. Discussion of results is guided by a developmental psychopathology perspective and includes a focus on emerging adulthood and the CEM context for Asian-identified students.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Examining Mediators of the Association Between Child Maltreatment and Sleep Disturbance in College Students
    (2022-09) Kaubrys, McKenzie
    A significant portion of students entering college have a history of childhood maltreatment, which has been associated with greater risk for negative mental and physical health outcomes across the lifespan, including disrupted sleep. The present study aimed to assess four mediators of the association between child maltreatment and sleep in a sample of college students. Informed by the hyperarousal model of insomnia, we hypothesized that greater daily rumination, lower perceptions of perceived present control over daily stressors, poorer sleep hygiene, and greater psychological distress would mediate the relation between maltreatment and sleep. The hypothesized model was compared to an alternate path reversal model. Participants (N = 227) electronically completed a self-report measure of childhood maltreatment (baseline) and daily diary surveys assessing rumination, present control, sleep hygiene, and distress for 14 days. Daily measures were aggregated across the 14 days of assessment. Structural equation models were used to test hypotheses. Child maltreatment was significantly associated with greater sleep disturbance. Sleep hygiene partially mediated the association between maltreatment and sleep, whereas the indirect effects of maltreatment on sleep through rumination, present control, and distress were nonsignificant. Results from the alternate path reversal model demonstrated that sleep disturbance mediated the relation between child maltreatment and sleep hygiene and present control, respectively, and sleep disturbance partially mediated the relation between maltreatment and distress and rumination. Results are discussed in the context of previous research and future implications, including informing interventions on university campuses.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A Needs Assessment of Programs that Build Resilience against Adverse Childhood Experiences among Youth at Waconia and Central School Districts in Carver County, Minnesota
    (Resilient Communities Project (RCP), University of Minnesota, 2016) Barrett, Ashley
    This project was completed as part of the 2015-2016 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with Carver County. Carver County Public Health project lead Jean Pierson worked with a master of public health student in public health administration to analyze the incidence and impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among children in Carver County, and identify opportunities to build resistance, support families, and strengthen communities to reduce the incidence of childhood maltreatment. The students' final report is available.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Prevalence of Children with Disabilities in the Child Welfare System: An Examination of Administrative Records
    (Children and Youth Services Review, 2011-11) Lightfoot, Elizabeth; Hill, Katharine M.; LaLiberte, Traci
    This article explores the prevalence and characteristics of children with disabilities within the child welfare system using administrative data from the State of Minnesota. This study finds that more than a fifth (22%) of children with substantiated maltreatment are labeled in administrative records as having a disability, and more than one quarter of children (27.9%) over age five. The most common type of disability among children with substantiated maltreatment was emotional disturbance, while other common disabilities included intellectual and developmental disabilities and learning disabilities. Using logistic regression, this study finds that children with substantiated maltreatment with disabilities were about two times more likely to be in out of home placement than children with substantiated maltreatment without disabilities.