Testing the Efficacy of Early Head Start in Preventing Child Maltreatment: A Fift

测试早期启蒙在预防儿童虐待方面的功效：五分之一

• 批准号: 9086805
• 负责人: CATHERINE C AYOUB
• 金额: $ 10.27万
• 依托单位: PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-09-30 至 2016-09-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9086805
• 关键词: Testing; Efficacy; Early; Head; Start

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of the proposed research is to advance the science of violence prevention by conducting a rigorous study of the impact of Early Head Start (EHS) on child abuse and neglect. EHS is a primary prevention program for low-income infants, toddlers, and their families. Although EHS has been shown to positively impact risk and protective factors associated with maltreatment, its effectiveness in preventing abuse and neglect has not been well-studied. The proposed project addresses critical gaps in maltreatment prevention science by: (a) using a randomized experimental design; (b) following a large study sample longitudinally (birth to age 15) to assess long-term prevention outcomes; (c) utilizing documented reports of maltreatment as a measure program effectiveness; (d) identifying key short term program mediators of later maltreatment; and (e) differentiating program impacts for different types of abuse (neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse). The considerable public health impact, societal costs, and detrimental short and long-term health consequences of child abuse and neglect are well documented, and the identification of effective maltreatment prevention programs is a priority area for the CDC. As one of the largest programs serving at-risk infants and toddlers in the country, results from this study have significant potential for policy impact by providing evidence that the EHS program can reduce dangerous and costly child maltreatment. Today, EHS serves only 5% of eligible children; further support for its effectiveness will lend weight to expansion and advocacy efforts that could significantly reduce the number of children maltreated in this country. Further, the very young children served by EHS are most vulnerable to injury and death related to maltreatment, and thus most in need of effective evidence based prevention services. The present study will address five research questions: (1) Is EHS effective in reducing child maltreatment among participating children and families? (2) Do the positive impacts of EHS on early child and parent outcomes mediate later program effects on child maltreatment? (3) Is EHS more effective in preventing maltreatment for specific subgroups of children or families? (4) What characteristics of EHS programs are associated with better prevention outcomes? (5) How do children in EHS and the control group differ with regard to the timing, type, severity and/or chronicity of maltreatment experienced? This study will use methodology tested in a recent pilot study to obtain child welfare records for 3001 children and their caregivers in 17 EHS programs who participated in a national randomized clinical trial of program impacts starting in 1996. The study will link maltreatment data with the extensive outcome data collected in the national EHS study (interviews, observations, and direct child assessments when children were 14, 24, 36, and 60 months old). Qualitative data from child welfare case files will allow the study to address methodological issues that have hampered prior research on the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

描述(申请人提供)：拟议研究的目的是通过对早期学前教育(EHS)对虐待和忽视儿童的影响进行严格研究，促进暴力预防科学的发展。EHS是为低收入婴儿、蹒跚学步的儿童及其家庭提供的主要预防计划。尽管EHS已被证明对与虐待相关的风险和保护因素产生了积极影响，但其在防止滥用和忽视方面的有效性尚未得到很好的研究。拟议的项目通过以下方式解决虐待预防科学中的关键空白：(A)使用随机实验设计；(B)纵向跟踪大样本研究(出生至15岁)以评估长期预防结果；(C)利用有记录的虐待报告作为衡量方案有效性的指标；(D)确定以后虐待的关键短期方案调解人；以及(E)区分不同类型虐待(忽视、身体虐待和性虐待)对方案的影响。虐待和忽视儿童对公共健康的巨大影响、社会成本以及有害的短期和长期健康后果都有很好的记录，确定有效的虐待预防方案是疾控中心的优先领域。作为美国最大的为高危婴儿和蹒跚学步的儿童提供服务的计划之一，这项研究的结果提供了证据，表明EHS计划可以减少危险和昂贵的儿童虐待，因此具有重大的政策影响潜力。今天，EHS只为5%的符合条件的儿童提供服务；对其有效性的进一步支持将增加扩大和宣传努力的权重，这些努力可以显著减少该国虐待儿童的数量。此外，EHS服务的幼儿最容易受到与虐待有关的伤害和死亡，因此最需要有效的循证预防服务。本研究将解决五个研究问题：(1)EHS在减少参与的儿童和家庭中的虐待儿童方面是否有效？(2)EHS对早期儿童和父母结果的积极影响是否在后来的计划对儿童虐待的影响中起中介作用？(3)EHS在预防针对特定儿童或家庭亚群的虐待方面是否更有效？(4)EHS计划的哪些特征与更好的预防结果相关？(5)EHS中的儿童和对照组的儿童在遭受虐待的时间、类型、严重程度和/或慢性病方面有何不同？这项研究将使用在最近的一项试点研究中测试的方法来获得17个EHS计划中3001名儿童及其照顾者的儿童福利记录，这些儿童参加了1996年开始的一项关于计划影响的全国随机临床试验。这项研究将把虐待数据与国家EHS研究中收集的广泛结果数据联系起来(访谈、观察和儿童14、24、36和60个月大时的直接儿童评估)。来自儿童福利案例档案的定性数据将使这项研究能够解决阻碍先前关于防止虐待和忽视儿童的研究的方法问题。