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Effects of chronic maltreatment and maltreatment timing on children's behavior and cognitive abilities
Sara R Jaffee1, Andrea Kohn Maikovich-Fong
1Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK. sara.jaffee@kcl.ac.uk
Insights
Chronic child maltreatment, especially when occurring over multiple developmental periods, is linked to significant internalizing and externalizing problems and lower IQ. Early intervention and caregiver support are crucial for mitigating these negative outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Chronic child maltreatment is linked to adverse developmental outcomes.
- The impact of maltreatment may vary by age of onset and co-occurring risk factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the effects of maltreatment timing, extent, and continuity on child development.
- To investigate the role of family risk factors in mediating maltreatment effects.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW).
- Identified four groups based on maltreatment patterns from birth to 9 years.
- Assessed internalizing/externalizing problems, prosocial behavior, and IQ post-maltreatment.
Main Results:
- Multiple periods of maltreatment correlated with more problems and lower IQ compared to single-period maltreatment.
- Family risk factors explained chronicity effects on behavior but not IQ.
- Maltreatment timing did not uniquely affect outcomes but moderated chronicity's impact on prosocial behavior.
Conclusions:
- Early intervention is vital to prevent maltreatment.
- Enhanced mental health and substance use services for caregivers in child welfare are needed.
Background:
Chronic maltreatment has been associated with the poorest developmental outcomes, but its effects may depend on the age when the maltreatment began, or be confounded by co-occurring psychosocial risk factors.
Method:
We used data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) to identify four groups of children who varied in the timing, extent, and continuity of their maltreatment from birth to 9 years. Internalizing and externalizing problems, prosocial behavior, and IQ were assessed 21 months, on average, following the most recent maltreatment report.
Results:
Children maltreated in multiple developmental periods had more externalizing and internalizing problems and lower IQ scores than children maltreated in only one developmental period. Chronically maltreated children had significantly more family risk factors than children maltreated in one developmental period and these accounted for maltreatment chronicity effects on externalizing and internalizing problems, but not IQ. The timing of maltreatment did not have a unique effect on cognitive or behavioral outcomes, although it did moderate the effect of maltreatment chronicity on prosocial behavior.
Conclusion:
There is a need for early intervention to prevent maltreatment from emerging and to provide more mental health and substance use services to caregivers involved with child welfare services.
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