An ecological model of child maltreatment in a Canadian province

The rate at which children are maltreated is one of the most sensitive measures of demographic, social, and economic conditions. Although the consequences of maltreatment and the effectiveness of treatment programs in reducing the incidence have been extensively studied, little attention has been given to identifying spatial variations in maltreatment in terms of characteristics of areas, especially demographic, social or economical. Maltreatment may differ markedly in terms of an area's socio-demographic and economic makeup and this phenomenon needs to be studied in a structural context. This study employs an ecological perspective to predict variations in the rate of maltreatment (including neglect and abuse) among children aged 0 to 19 years in Alberta, Canada in 1986. Several hypotheses are tested in a multivariate framework and the implications of the findings in assessing the effectiveness of intervention strategies are briefly discussed.