Neighborhood factors and child maltreatment: A mixed method study

邻里因素和虐待儿童：混合方法研究

• 批准号: 8558865
• 负责人: James Spilsbury
• 金额: $ 47.51万
• 依托单位: CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-08-01 至 2017-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8558865
• 关键词: Accounting; Address; Affect; Back; Behavioral; Characteristics; Child; Child Abuse and Neglect; Child Welfare; Childhood; Cities; Crime; Data; Data Analyses; Disadvantaged; Ecology; Economic Factors; Economics; Elements; Ensure; Environment; Family; Foreclosure; Fostering; Human; Immigrant; Individual; Intervention; Investigation; Life; Life Cycle Stages; Link; Longitudinal Studies; Measures; Methods; Neighborhoods; Occupations; Pathway interactions; Perception; Policies; Poverty; Prevention; Preventive; Process; Public Policy; Reporter; Reporting; Research; Resources; Risk; Role; Services; Shapes; Social Health Services; Social Work; Societies; Time; cost; density; experience; innovation; maltreatment; prevent; psychologic; public health relevance; response; social; uptake; urban area

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Child maltreatment affects 1 in 5 children nationwide and often leads to profound childhood physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences, which may persist throughout the life course. Interventions to prevent maltreatment are critically needed: besides the inestimable cost in human suffering, maltreatment's material costs to society total over $100 billion per year. Though most prevention efforts focus on individuals or families, the neighborhood is a key environment that both influences maltreatment rates and that might serve as a potential intervention target to reduce maltreatment. Our mixed-methods study in Cleveland, OH and research elsewhere found that neighborhood structural factors (economic disadvantage, residential instability, childcare burden, immigrant concentration) are linked to greater maltreatment, even after accounting for the effects of family and individual factors. Paradoxically, since our study 20 years ago, Cleveland's poverty rate has raised, yet neighborhood maltreatment rates have varied widely: Many of these rates have decreased, some sharply, some only slightly, while others have increased. Why? Our study will identify how possible differences over time in neighborhood ecologies may contribute: (1) differences in neighborhood conditions as reflected by structural factors and concomitant changes in neighborhood social processes and dis-amenities (undesirable conditions such as blight, crime); (2) differences in the organization and provision of social services, resources in which Cleveland invested significantly since the initial study; and (3) differences in professionals' (mandated) an non-professionals' (non-mandated) definition, reporting, and substantiation of maltreatment. Our underlying hypothesis is that the effects of structural factors and dis-amenities on maltreatment have changed over time because of the moderating influence of services, as well as changes in definition/reporting practices that result in variable substantiation rates. To achieve our study purpose, we propose a comprehensive, nested, mixed-methods investigation, conducting both a citywide panel study, as well as an in-depth investigation of 20 neighborhoods, where complimentary qualitative and quantitative data will be collected and analyzed jointly for a more complete understanding of the 3 pathways. We have a rich store of quantitative and qualitative data reaching back up to 20 years on neighborhood conditions, services, and definition/reporting; this is a unique resource to reveal these pathways' roles in influencing maltreatment over time. The proposed study is innovative: it will compare and contrast neighborhood conditions, services, and definition/reporting over a 20-year period. The study is highly significant: experts nationwide are unsure of the forces shaping US maltreatment rates, forces which this study will address. The study has significant potential to shape child welfare policy by identifying specific neighborhood conditions, service elements, and definition/reporting practices linked to reduced maltreatment rates. Moreover, because conditions in Cleveland mirror those of many urban areas nationwide, expected results will be relevant to numerous US cities.

描述（由申请人提供）：儿童虐待会影响全国五分之一的儿童，并且经常导致童年时期的身体，心理和行为后果，这可能会在整个生命过程中持续存在。至关重要的是防止虐待的干预措施：除了人类苦难的不可估量的成本外，虐待社会对社会的物质成本总计超过1000亿美元。尽管大多数预防努力都集中在个人或家庭上，但邻里是一个关键环境，既影响虐待率，又可能是减少虐待的潜在干预目标。我们在俄亥俄州克利夫兰市的混合方法研究，其他地方的研究发现，即使考虑到家庭和个人因素的影响，即使在考虑到家庭和个人因素的影响之后，邻里的结构性因素（经济劣势，居民不稳定，育儿负担，移民集中）也与更大的恶意联系起来。自相矛盾的是，自20年前我们的研究以来，克利夫兰的贫困率已经提高，但邻里虐待率却有很大的变化：其中许多速度急剧下降，有些急剧下降，有些仅略有下降，而另一些则增加了。为什么？我们的研究将确定邻里生态过程中可能差异的可能差异可能有助于：（1）结构性因素以及邻里社会过程和疾病的伴随变化所反映的邻里条件差异（不良条件，例如枯萎病，犯罪）； （2）组织和提供社会服务的差异，自初次研究以来，克利夫兰进行了大量投资的资源； （3）专业人士（规定）非专业人士（非授权）定义，报告和虐待的差异。我们的基本假设是，由于服务的调节影响以及定义/报告实践的变化，结构性因素和差异对虐待的影响随着时间的流逝而发生了变化，从而导致了可变的证明率。为了实现我们的研究目的，我们提出了一项全面的，嵌套的混合方法研究，既进行全市范围的小组研究，又对20个社区进行了深入的研究，其中将收集并共同分析免费的定性和定量数据，以对3条途径进行更完整的了解。我们拥有丰富的定量和定性数据，可在邻里条件，服务和定义/报告上恢复20年；这是一个独特的资源，可以揭示这些途径在影响虐待随着时间的影响方面的作用。拟议的研究具有创新性：它将在20年期间比较和对比邻里条件，服务以及定义/报告。这项研究非常重要：全国范围内的专家不确定塑造美国虐待率的力量，这将解决这项研究的力量。这项研究具有通过确定与降低虐待率有关的特定邻里状况，服务要素以及定义/报告实践来塑造儿童福利政策的巨大潜力。此外，由于克利夫兰的条件反映了全国许多城市地区的条件，因此预期结果将与许多美国城市有关。