Neighborhood factors and child maltreatment: A mixed method study

描述(申请人提供)：虐待儿童影响全国五分之一的儿童，经常导致儿童时期严重的身体、心理和行为后果，可能持续整个一生。迫切需要防止虐待的干预措施：除了人类痛苦的不可估量的代价外，虐待每年给社会造成的物质代价总计超过1000亿美元。尽管大多数预防工作都集中在个人或家庭身上，但该社区是一个关键环境，既影响虐待发生率，也可能成为减少虐待的潜在干预目标。我们在俄亥俄州克利夫兰的混合方法研究和其他地方的研究发现，社区结构因素(经济劣势、居住不稳定、育儿负担、移民集中)与更大的虐待有关，即使在考虑家庭和个人因素的影响后也是如此。矛盾的是，自从我们20年前的研究以来，克利夫兰的贫困率有所上升，但社区虐待的比率差异很大：其中许多比率下降了，有些下降得很厉害，有些下降得很轻微，而有些则上升了。为什么？我们的研究将确定社区生态方面的差异如何可能有助于：(1)结构性因素反映的社区条件的差异，以及社区社会过程和便利设施(如枯萎病、犯罪等不良条件)的伴随变化；(2)自最初研究以来克利夫兰在社会服务、资源的组织和提供方面的差异；以及(3)专业人员(强制)和非专业人员(非强制)对虐待的定义、报告和证据的差异。我们的基本假设是，结构性因素和缺陷对虐待的影响随着时间的推移而发生变化，这是因为服务的影响有所缓和，以及定义/报告做法的变化导致了不同的确证率。为了达到我们的研究目的，我们提出了一种全面的、嵌套的、混合的调查方法，既进行了全市范围的小组研究，又对20个社区进行了深入调查，收集和分析了互补的定性和定量数据，以更全面地了解这三条路径。我们拥有丰富的定量和定性数据，最早可以追溯到20年前的邻里条件、服务和定义/报告；这是一个独特的资源，可以揭示这些途径在影响虐待行为方面的作用。这项拟议的研究是创新的：它将在20年的时间里比较和对比社区条件、服务和定义/报告。这项研究具有非常重要的意义：全国的专家都不确定影响美国虐待比率的因素，而这项研究将解决这些因素。这项研究通过确定与降低虐待发生率有关的具体社区条件、服务要素和定义/报告做法，具有制定儿童福利政策的巨大潜力。此外，由于克利夫兰的情况反映了全国许多城市的情况，预期结果将与许多美国城市相关。

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.