Abstract
Early diagnosis of child neglect is an ongoing challenge with consequences of the child’s safety, health, and effective referral for intervention. This study aims to obtain a selected set of family, maternal, and dyadic variables of the immediate caregiving environment for diagnosis, preventive, and intervention responses in healthcare settings. Mothers and their children under five years old: 51 in the neglected group (NG) and 89 in the non-neglected control group (CG), were recruited through pediatric primary care services and social services in Spain. Family demographics, adverse events, childhood maltreatment, maternal psychopathologies, personality variables, and observed mother–child interactions were assessed. Gradient boosting analyses were applied for the contributor’s relative importance (RI), followed by logistic regression and discriminant analyses for those with higher RI. Parametric analyses showed high diagnostic accuracy (80–82% of NG and 92% of CG) for risky factors of child neglect: having a physically neglected and depressed mother, living in families in need of financial assistance, and large families; and for protective factors: having an older mother and showing higher mother–child emotional availability. Identifying a select group of features makes early diagnosis and preventive intervention more effective for mitigating the impact of child neglect and building mother–child resilience.
Highlights
Research has demonstrated the significant short- and long-term impact of adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse and neglect, and the social determinants, such as the family socioeconomic disadvantage, on healthy child development and wellbeing. [1,2]
This study aims to obtain a select group of variables of the proximal/immediate caregiving environment, among those previously identified as related to child neglect, to make an early diagnosis and preventive intervention more feasible and effective for the professionals
Our findings can help evidence-based early identification, prevention, and intervention strategies to mitigate the negative impact of child neglect and build mother–child resiliency
Summary
Research has demonstrated the significant short- and long-term impact of adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse and neglect, and the social determinants, such as the family socioeconomic disadvantage, on healthy child development and wellbeing. [1,2]. The first is to provide ongoing medical care and guidance for neglected children with child protection services (CPS) records [10]. The second one is to identify a child neglect case early in the absence of CPS records. Screening young children for risk factors, such as an adverse childhood experiences and protective factors, does not occur regularly [11]. In the absence of a proper screening, primary care providers often struggle with deciding when an action (or lack of action) by a caregiver constitutes inadequate childcare and is neglectful [12]. Achieving an early diagnosis of child neglect can positively affect the child’s safety, health, and wellbeing and subsequent effective referral for additional intensive intervention by other services
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