Risk factors for child abuse and neglect: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Child Development
• Criminology

Background:

• Child maltreatment is a significant public health concern with severe consequences.
• Existing research on risk factors for child maltreatment lacks recent quantitative synthesis.
• Understanding these factors is crucial for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically identify and quantify individual, familial, community, and societal risk factors for child maltreatment.
• To analyze patterns of risk factors across different types of child maltreatment (physical, sexual, emotional abuse, neglect).

Main Methods:

• Systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines (2013-2023).
• Inclusion of studies on physical, sexual, emotional abuse, neglect, and multi-type maltreatment in children under 18.
• Meta-analysis using fixed and random effects models, with risk of bias, sensitivity, subgroup, and certainty of evidence (GRADE) analyses.

Main Results:

• Male children had higher odds of physical abuse (OR: 1.49).
• Protective factors included employed families, higher family education, older parental age, and higher family income (ORs 0.51-0.99).
• Risk factors included larger family size, parental mental health issues, prior maltreatment history, and substance use (ORs 1.07-5.21).

Conclusions:

• Identified risk factors operate at multiple levels (individual, familial, community).
• Findings highlight the need for targeted interventions addressing these multifaceted risk factors.
• Implications for policy, practice, and future research are crucial for enhancing child protection and well-being.