Component #4 - Social Mechanisms of Child Physical Abuse and Neglect

Pacific Institute For Res And Evaluation, Beltsville MD

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Abstract

Current research suggests that a relationship exists between alcohol outlet density and child maltreatment. To date, however, studies examining the relationship between alcohol outlet density and child maltreatment are cross-sectional in nature and do not examine the ndividual social mechanisms relating outlet density to child physical abuse and neglect. The current proposal aims to address these shortcomings by using a panel study design to examine whether disorganized neighborhoods with high densities of alcohol outlets will have higher rates of officially reported child maltreatment over a nine year period (1998 - 2006) than areas with low densities of outlets and low evels of social disorganization, with controls for other retail density and child care facilities. This component of the study will use archival data from all 7049 California Census tracts across California from 1998 to 2006 (n * t = 7049 * 9 = 63441). Official reports of child physical abuse and neglect will be obtained from the Center for Social Services Research (CSSR) at the University of California, Berkeley which is contracted by the California Department of Social Services to archive the referral and placement child welfare data for the state of California. Additionally, few studies have examined mechanisms by which local ecological factors, such as alcohol outlets, affect child maltreatment in a general population sample. The current study is innovative in that it will examine specific mechanisms in detail to understand the relationship between outlet density and child physical abuse and neglect. Specifically, we will explore whether neighborhood features such as collective efficacy and social support buffer the effects of alcohol outlet density on child maltreatment in socially disorganized neighborhoods. We will also examine whether greater densities of onpremise outlets (i.e., bars) provide more opportunities for parents to drink away from home, thus increasing a child's risk for being neglected. Relatedly, it may be that venue preference will moderate the relationship between outlet density, drinking patterns, and child maltreatment such that children with parents who prefer to drink in their home will be at higher risk for child physical abuse while children of parents who prefer to drink at bars and/or pubs will be at higher risk for supervisory and physical neglect. Survey data for this component of the study will be collected from 3000 parents or legal guardians of children aged 0 to 12 sampled randomly from 50 communities across California. Findings of this study can be used to develop primary prevention activities aimed at populations of families living in neighborhoods with characteristics deemed high risk for potential abuse and neglect. Such interventions that change neighborhood conditions may have a greater probability of creating and sustaining safer environments for children.