Child Maltreatment: An Analysis of Familial and Institutional Predictors

In: Journal of family issues, Volume 1, Issue 3, p. 339-356

Abstract

THE purpose of this paper is to identify familial and institutional predictors of child maltreatment. Interrelationships between timing of first childbearing, presence of social disorganization within the family, the availability of family and institutional supports, and the incidence of child maltreatment are examined for fifty maltreating and fifty nonmaltreating families drawn from social service case histories in rural North Carolina. While child maltreatment was not associated with early parenting or lack of potential family social support, a strong relationship was found between the likelihood of child maltreatment and the family's degree of social disorganization and their amount of social service utilization. The study unvariables explained 59% of the variance in child maltreatment. A log linear analysis was performed to determine the interactive influence of the two most important predictors of child maltreatment: level of social disorganization and social service utilization. Recommendations for the identification and treatment of families at high risk are suggested.