Predicting and Preventing Neglect in Teen Mothers

描述(申请人提供)：超过200万例儿童 每年都有虐待事件的报道。在这些问题中，忽视儿童仍然是 最大的单一类别。这个项目的主要焦点是澄清 忽视概念及其在决定儿童发展中的重要性 在多个域中。该项目涉及来自伦敦大学的教职员工 圣母大学、阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校 堪萨斯大学和乔治城大学。我们计划确定一个 560名青少年母亲(140名/站点)和180名成年人的代表性样本 怀孕最后三个月的母亲(45个/地点)。这个 青少年样本将从指定的地理集水区招募 与每个区域设置相关联。成人样本将提供基线数据 关于忽视和儿童发展的模式。产前检查的措施 母亲的预测因素(例如，滥用药物、抑郁、认知能力 父母等)、忽视父母教养、人口统计信息(例如，教育 和工作；婚姻状况等)，母亲的社会情感特征，以及 适当和及时地使用医疗护理将在 3年期。对儿童智力、语言和能力的评估 社交情绪的发展将在1岁、2岁和3岁时发生。独一无二的 本项目的方法论特点是采用了多方法、多层次的方法。 将忽视作为一种构念来研究的告密者方法。手机的使用-- 5种测量方法中的1种--允许我们保持联系 参与者以及收集关于联系的频率和性质的数据 青少年与当地服务机构以及母婴接触者之间的联系， 它的缺失定义了疏忽。试点数据表明， 这种评估育儿方式的方法的可行性、可靠性和实用性。 忽视的其他衡量标准包括母子观察、监测 夜间的育儿模式、自我报告和专业评估。 我们的目标是通过评估和评估来澄清忽视的含义 使用多个评估精炼一系列评估工具；预测 通过使用产前风险因素(即，药物滥用和 依赖)；记录母亲及其子女的成长和变化 在生命的前3年来确定是否不同的发育 模式与早期母亲忽视有系统的关联；评估 以社区为基础的计划在预防或减少疏忽方面的重要性 行为；最后，测试最近的 发展了青少年父母教养的概念模型，将忽视与 使用结构方程对产前变量和儿童结局的影响 模特儿。一种改进的忽视模式将为未来的干预努力提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over 2 million cases of child maltreatment are reported each year. Of these, child neglect remains the largest single category. The major focus of this project is the clarification of neglect as a construct and its importance in determining child development in multiple domains. The project involves faculty and staff from the University of Notre Dame, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Kansas, and Georgetown University. We plan to identify a representative sample of 560 adolescent mothers (140/site) and 180 adult mothers (45/site) during the last trimester of their pregnancies. The adolescent sample will be recruited from specified geographic catchment areas associated with each locale. The adult sample will provide baseline data concerning patterns of neglect and child development. Measures of prenatal maternal predictors (e.g., substance abuse, depression, cognitive readiness to parent, etc.), neglectful parenting, demographic information, (e.g., education and jobs; marital status; etc.), maternal socioemotional characteristics, and the appropriate and timely use of medical care will be gathered during a 3 year period. Assessments of children's intellectual, linguistic, and socioemotional development will occur at 1, 2, and 3 years of age. A unique methodological feature in this project is the use of a Multi-Method, Multi- Informant approach to study neglect as a construct. The use of cell phones-- 1 of 5 measurement approaches -- allows us to maintain contact with participants as well as gather data on the frequency and nature of contacts between the teens and local service agencies as well as mother-child contacts, the absence of which defines neglect. Pilot data has demonstrated the feasibility, reliability, and utility of this method of assessing parenting. Other measures of neglect include mother-child observations, monitoring nighttime patterns of parenting, self-reports, and professional evaluations. Our objectives are to clarify the meaning of neglect by evaluating and refining a series of assessment tools using multiple assessments; predict neglect through the use of prenatal risk factors (i.e., substance abuse and dependence); document growth and change in both mothers and their children over the first 3 years of life to determine whether different developmental patterns are systematically associated with early maternal neglect; assess the importance of community-based programs in preventing or reducing neglectful behavior; and, finally, test the generality and usefulness of a recently developed conceptual model of adolescent parenting that relates neglect to prenatal antecedent variables and to child outcomes, using structural equation modeling. A refined model of neglect will inform future intervention efforts.