Repeat reports among cases reported for child neglect: A scoping review.

Area of Science:

• Child Welfare Research
• Public Health Policy
• Sociology

Background:

• Child welfare policy in the US focuses on preventing repeat maltreatment incidents.
• Child neglect constitutes the majority of maltreatment reports.
• No prior review has specifically examined the recurrence of child neglect.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize findings on child neglect recurrence.
• To highlight the ecological context of child maltreatment.
• To guide future research, policy, and practice.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review of 34 US studies on maltreatment recurrence.
• Included studies comparing child neglect to other maltreatment types (28 studies) and those focusing solely on neglect (6 studies).
• Searched eleven online databases, contextualizing findings by modifiable factors and methodological variations.

Main Results:

• Of 28 comparative studies, 14 found increased neglect risk, 12 found no association, and 2 found lower risk.
• Effect sizes for increased neglect risk ranged from 10% to over three times higher.
• Poverty was the most common control (15 studies), with two-thirds finding higher risk in lower-resource families.

Conclusions:

• Methodological inconsistencies across studies impede current practice and policy guidance.
• Further research with comparable samples and contextual models is necessary.
• Replication and extension of findings are crucial for informing child welfare interventions.