NCJ Number
205559
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 25 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 1093-1108
Date Published
August 2001
Length
16 pages
Annotation
Distinguishing maltreatment by type -- sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect -- this study compared recidivism rates for alleged maltreatment perpetrators whose initial report was substantiated and those whose initial report was unsubstantiated, so as to determine whether they returned to consideration by the child welfare system at differing rates.
Abstract
The study defined recidivism at two levels: any new report of maltreatment perpetration regardless of maltreatment type and new substantiated reports. Recidivism was examined during a 4 1/2-year period after the index event, excluding the first 7 days after the initial report. The study analyzed secondary data collected by child protection caseworkers in Missouri. During the study period (January 1, 1993-December 31, 1994), 64,523 alleged perpetrators were referred to the Missouri Department of Family Services for investigation of suspected child maltreatment perpetration. The final study sample consisted of intrafamilial perpetrators referred for a single type of abuse, including only sexual abuse (n=1,321), only physical abuse (n=9,406), or only neglect (n=20,804). Variables analyzed included the following: relationship to the child was as birth parent, adoptive parent step-parent, paramour of parent, or other relative in a parental role. Other variables measured were gender, ethnicity, and neighborhood mean income. Bivariate relationships (substantiation status and recidivism) were analyzed by using survival curves. The study found that recidivism patterns differed by type of maltreatment and by substantiation status at the index event. Cross-type recidivism was most likely when the index event was physical or sexual abuse, and within-type was most common when the index event was neglect. Perpetrators whose index event was unsubstantiated returned to the child welfare system at a higher rate than those whose abuse was substantiated. Bivariate relationships held true even when controlling for neighborhood mean income, ethnicity, and gender. This finding suggests the need to determine how to distinguish those unsubstantiated alleged perpetrators who are most at risk for recidivism. Frequent cross-type recidivism indicates that intervention should focus on common causal themes across maltreatment types. 3 tables, 8 figures, and 22 references