Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect (1993) / Chapter Skim
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10 PRIORITIES FOR CHILD MALTREATMENT RESEARCH
10 PRIORITIES FOR CHILD MALTREATMENT RESEARCH
Pages 343-362
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From page 343... ...
that provide examples of the type of institutional support that needs to be provided in developing research on child maltreatment. The panel concludes that an agenda for child maltreatment research should address four separate objectives.
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From page 344... ...
The variation in existing definitions and inadequate instrumentation impede high-quality research, inhibit the comparison of studies of related phenomena, and restrain the development of good evaluations of intervention efforts. Improved definitions and instrumentation will facilitate the development of small- and large-scale epidemiologic investigations that can clarify important dimensions as well as etiologic agents that are keys to understanding the nature and scope of child abuse and neglect.
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From page 345... ...
For example, although certain outcomes in terms of family functioning and individual development can be measured effectively, measures to classify different or multiple forms of child abuse and neglect are poorly developed. The behaviors, characteristics, and experiences of the child and the caretaker and the quality of the caretaking environment need to be assessed by research instruments rather than relying solely on administrative reports.
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From page 346... ...
Better knowledge about the scope of child maltreatment will also inform the selection of appropriate sites for prevention and intervention, including the use of schools, hospitals, health clinics, juvenile detention facilities, homeless shelters, and community centers. The panel believes that questions on child abuse and neglect should be included on future national surveys (the National Health Interview Survey, the National Survey of Children, and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth)
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From page 347... ...
In a similar manner, it is not yet known if there is a continuum involving physical punishment, emotional maltreatment, and other forms of child abuse and neglect or whether these are distinctive behaviors with separate etiologies (See Recommendations 4-2 and 4-3 in Chapter 4~.
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From page 348... ...
Studies that examine multiple forms of abuse can help compare and contrast child maltreatment outcomes with the consequences of other childhood risk factors. The common practice of treating abused and neglected children together may reveal only a partial portrait of childhood victims' risk for later consequences.
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From page 349... ...
Research Priority 8: Studies of similarities and differences in the etiologies and consequences of various forms of maltreatment across various cultural and ethnic groups are necessary. The effects of risk potentiating and protective factors in diverse cultural and ethnic groups have not been adequately explored in examining both the origins and consequences of child maltreatment.
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From page 350... ...
Research Priority 9: High-quality evaluation studies of existing program and service interventions are needed to develop criteria and instrumentation that can help identify promising developments in the delivery of treatment and prevention services. Independent scientific evaluations are needed to clarify the outcomes to be assessed for service delivery programs in the area of child maltreatment.
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From page 351... ...
Home visiting programs have great potential for enhancing family functioning and parenting skills and reducing the prevalence of child maltreatment. However, given the state of knowledge about what programs work, for whom they work, and whether they influence child abuse and neglect directly (via a reduction in child abuse and neglect)
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From page 352... ...
If exposure to a greater number of risk factors increases the risk for violence and child abuse, then community-based prevention and intervention programs need to target multiple childhood risk factors in both the family and the school domains, as well as within the broader social context of the child (e.g., peers, neighborhood)
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From page 353... ...
Furthermore, major prevention programs need to include a long-term follow-up as part of their evaluation, including information on long-term outcomes, such as arrests for violent behavior and child abuse (See Recommendation 5-3 in Chapter 5~. Research Priority 10: Research on the operation of the existing child protection and child welfare systems is urgently needed.
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From page 354... ...
redesign state data-processing systems so that uniform individuallevel data are available and unduplicated counts of children affected by abuse and neglect are easily obtainable; · establish an expert panel to periodically review the data system, establish quality indicators, and identify key areas for services systems investigation; . make available state-level data as public use data tapes; · conduct ethnographic studies to identify the systems-level features that affect reporting and case verification; and provide sufficient incentive for state child welfare agencies to become equal partners in the research process while acknowledging the problems (e.g., understaffing, management emphasis)
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From page 355... ...
Research Priority 13: Federal agencies concerned with child maltreatment research need to formulate a national research plan and provide leadership for child maltreatment research. Existing fragmentation in the federal research effort focused on child maltreatment requires immediate attention.
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From page 356... ...
The research mission of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect could be strengthened with the necessary staff, budgetary, and program resources so that it can provide leadership in this area; (2) The lead agency responsibility for research on child maltreatment could be transferred to an agency with a distinguished research record (such as the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, or the Maternal and Child Health Bureau)
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From page 357... ...
The following steps need to be taken to foster career development and to expand the human resources that provide the foundation for studies of child maltreatment: · The interdisciplinary nature of child maltreatment research requires the development of specialized disciplinary expertise as well as opportunities for collaborative research studies. Researchers in child maltreatment projects increasingly need to cross disciplinary boundaries, in terms of theories, instrumentation, and constructs, and to integrate relevant literature from multiple disciplines.
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From page 358... ...
· When a sufficient research budget is available to support an expanded corps of research investigators from multiple disciplines, multidisciplinary research centers should be established to foster collaboration in research on child maltreatment. The purpose of these centers should be to assemble a corps of faculty and practitioners focused on selected aspects of child abuse and neglect, including medical, psychological, social, legal, and cultural aspects of child abuse and neglect.
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From page 359... ...
The federal government spent about $15 million in fiscal year 1992 on research directly related to child maltreatment. As a first step, the panel recommends that the relevant budgets for child maltreatment research of the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Justice be doubled over the next three years.
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From page 360... ...
A national child abuse and neglect research information service, similar to the "Research in Brief" program operated through the Department of Justice, would be a significant asset to the state agency personnel and service providers (See Recommendation 81 1 in Chapter 9~.
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Finally, empirical analyses of research protocols and institutional research board reviews of proposed research projects on child maltreatment should be conducted to determine factors that influence approval and disapproval decisions, the use of waivers and certificates of confidentiality, and other factors that affect the manner in which research investigators address ethical and legal issues in the course of their research (See Recommendations 9-1 through 9-4 in Chapter 9~.
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