Child Mental Health Outcomes and Maternal Risk in Abusing Families

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed study will examine how maternal risk conditions (major depression, substance dependence and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization) influence child psychopathology among the high risk population of maltreated children between the ages of 3 and 10. The data to be analyzed are from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW), a longitudinal national probability study of children investigated for child maltreatment and their families. The NSCAW is the first national study of the child welfare population to collect data on child and caregiver well-being and provides a unique opportunity to examine maternal influences on child psychopathology among this vulnerable population. The specific aims guiding this proposed research are (1) to test the direct and indirect (or mediating) pathways between maternal risk conditions and child mental health outcomes (internalizing and externalizing problems) for maltreated children between the ages of 3 and 10 at baseline over the course of the 36-month study window; (2) Examine the combination of services received by children and mothers following the maltreatment investigation (i.e., adult and child mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, parenting support and economic assistance), as reported by mothers and child welfare workers; and (3) Determine if the combinations of services received by children and mothers changes between 12-month follow-up and 18- month follow-up, 18-month follow-up and 36-month follow-up. The indirect effects that will be tested are harsh parenting, neglectful parenting, emotionally abusive parenting, and service contact. The sub-sample of NSCAW to be studied are 1,300 cases in which the mother is identified as the permanent caregiver, and the child was between the ages of 3 and 10 at baseline and remained in-home following the maltreatment investigation (an at risk, but understudied population of children). Drawing on developmental psychopathology, this study will expand the current knowledge base by treating parenting practices as a non-static construct and will consider maternal risk conditions in addition to the most frequently studied risk (maternal depression). Findings from this study will identify maternal risk conditions that have the most harmful effects on parenting and child psychopathology, and are therefore, most critical to address given limited resources. Furthermore, knowledge about the paths through which maternal risk conditions influence child outcomes will inform the development of service models that include proven interventions targeting all of the critical risks.