Abstract
Personalization is an important strategy for enhancing the effectiveness of treatment that is aimed at reducing the risk of child maltreatment. In recent years, a growing body of research has appeared on how child protection can benefit from the principles of the Risk-Need-Responsivity model, but no attention has yet been paid to the implementation of the responsivity principle in child protection. Put simply, this principle states that treatment must be tailored to individual characteristics of clients to optimize its effectiveness. This study was the first to address how the responsivity principle can be of value in child protection. First, a systematic review of responsivity factors in forensic care was performed. Second, the relevance of applying each factor in child protection was examined through interviews with clinical professionals working in the field, who also provided suggestions on how treatment can be tailored to each of these factors. This resulted in an overview of seven responsivity factors all related to caregiver characteristics: problem denial, motivation to cooperate with treatment, psychological problems, cognitive abilities, cultural background, practical barriers such as financial problems and social support, and barriers to specific treatment types such as group therapy. Implications and recommendations for strengthening clinical practice are discussed.
Highlights
Child maltreatment is a worldwide public health problem with serious long-term consequences for the development of millions of children (e.g., English et al 2005; Gilbert et al 2009; Stoltenborgh et al 2015)
Recent studies pointed towards the value of implementing the Risk and Need principles of the Risk Need Responsivity model (Andrews et al 1990) in child protection services to enhance the effectiveness of treatment for reducing the risk of child maltreatment (e.g., Van der Put et al 2016b, 2018a)
The present study was aimed at introducing the Responsivity principle of the Risks Needs Responsivity (RNR)-model into the field of child protection
Summary
Child maltreatment is a worldwide public health problem with serious long-term consequences for the development of millions of children (e.g., English et al 2005; Gilbert et al 2009; Stoltenborgh et al 2015). Throughout the years, a wide range of parent support programs aimed at reducing (the risk of) child maltreatment have been developed, but the actual effects of these programs are still only small to modest (Euser et al 2015; Van der Put et al 2018a; Vlahovicova et al 2017). Researchers argued that the RNR principles can be applied to child protection services in order to enhance the effectiveness of treatment aimed at reducing the risk of (recurring) child maltreatment (e.g., Van der Put et al 2016b, 2018a). This study aimed to (1) identify an overview of responsivity factors in criminal practice with criminal offenders and (2) examine the value of targeting these factors in the clinical field of child protection, and how those factors can be targeted to enhance caregivers’ abilities to succeed in treatment
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