Formal Child Protection Research Articles

The relationship between compliance and compulsion, and dynamics of diversion, in child welfare decision-making

Abstract This article explores the relationship between (parental) compliance and (child) compulsion, within the wider dynamics of diversion, in child welfare decision-making. It examines how notions of parental compliance can be used by decision-makers to distinguish between compulsory and voluntary forms of state intervention in children’s and families’ lives. The article focusses on Scotland as a case study by drawing on empirical findings from a qualitative investigation into gatekeeping decision-making in the children’s hearings system, which found that notions of parental compliance are significant to decisions about whether to bring children within the statutory child protection system in practice. Key findings on parental cooperation, engagement, and acceptance are conceptualised as forms of ‘compliance’, linked to the existing international evidence base, and analysed in terms of state power and coercion, parental stigma and resistance in child protection processes. The relationship between parental compliance and child compulsion is scrutinised, in light of the procedural peculiarities of the Scottish system and wider proliferation of diversionary strategies aimed at reducing the numbers of children being drawn into formal child protection processes. The conclusion is that positive parental compliance may support diversion from involuntary child protection processes but there should be limits to reliance on negative conceptions of non-compliance to support direction into the statutory system.

NOW THE SOLUTION IS HERE – SOCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR ORPHANED CHILDREN: THE EXTENDED CHILD SUPPORT GRANT

The current crisis in foster care was precipitated by using the child protection system to meet the social assistance needs of orphaned children. The new parallel system in the form of an extended child support grant system would enable children in the care of relatives to access an appropriate grant without having to go through a time-consuming and resource-intensive statutory process. This article outlines the challenges in the South African foster care system, discusses the reasons for introducing the extended child support grant system and explains how it will be implemented. The paper seeks to contribute to the knowledge base on social work policy changes. The policy shift towards an extended child support grant could ensure that the majority of orphans have access to adequate social protection and free up the formal child protection system, enabling a quicker social work response to cases of child abuse, maltreatment and neglect.

National COVID-19 lockdown and trends in help-seeking for violence against children in Zimbabwe: an interrupted time-series analysis

BackgroundAn estimated 1.8 billion children live in countries where COVID-19 disrupted violence prevention and response. It is important to understand how government policies to contain COVID-19 impacted children’s ability to seek help, especially in contexts where there was limited formal help-seeking prior to the pandemic. We aimed to quantify how the national lockdown in Zimbabwe affected helpline calls for violence against children, estimated the number of calls that would have been received had the lockdown not occurred and described characteristics of types of calls and callers before and after the national lockdown.MethodsWe used an interrupted time series design to analyse the proportion of violence related calls (17,913 calls out of 57,050) to Childline Zimbabwe’s national child helpline between 2017 to 2021. We applied autoregressive integrated moving average regression (ARIMA) models to test possible changes in call trends before and after the March 2020 lockdown and forecasted how many calls would have been received in the absence of lockdown. In addition, we examined call characteristics before and after lockdown descriptively.ResultsThe proportion of violence related calls decreased in the 90 days after the lockdown and subsequently returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. We estimate that 10.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] 6.0–14.6%) more violence related calls would have occurred in this period had there not been a lockdown. Violence was increasingly reported as occurring in children’s households, with fewer reports from children and formal child protection actors.ConclusionsLockdowns dramatically change everyday life and strain populations, which is unlikely to reduce violence prevalence but may reduce help-seeking. The three months after COVID-19 lockdowns may be key time periods when help-seeking for violence decreases drastically. Policy makers should ensure that in-person and remote services support help-seeking. Interventions and campaigns may additionally want to target adult female family members in encouraging reporting of suspected violence cases when they occur within households and are perpetuated by other family members. We suggest a composite approach of scaling-up remote reporting mechanisms that are accessible and geographically well-distributed, establishing non-traditional sites for help seeking within communities and continuing limited in-person home visitation for known cases of violence.

Referral of sexual violence against children: How do children and caregivers use a formal child protection mechanism in Harare, Zimbabwe?

Despite widespread expansion of policies to prevent and respond to violence over the past three decades, sexual violence against children remains common globally. Zimbabwe has expansive legal and policy frameworks to prevent, and formal services to respond to, sexual violence. Yet evidence is lacking about how children and caregivers use formal referral mechanisms. This study conducted secondary qualitative analysis of sexual violence cases [N=74] processed in Harare Magistrates Court and referred to Childline Zimbabwe, in October-November 2020, to examine which experiences children and/or their caregivers formally refer as sexual violence; how they perceive and manage these experiences; and how this relates to national policy contexts.Caregivers, particularly female, were central to reporting sexual violence. Data suggested that some forms of sexual violence were formally referred, including community sexual assault and abuse within families, however some adolescent girls faced blame and shame. There were gaps in reporting of sexual violence against boys, and sexual violence from dating partners or authority figures, with data suggesting that gendered stigma, shame, and fears of institutional authority, were barriers for reporting. Caregivers also reported consensual adolescent sexual relationships to police. These findings contribute to the limited evidence on forms of sexual violence that are and are not formally referred globally, and in sub-Saharan African settings. Existing policy frameworks in Zimbabwe can be strengthened around age of maturity, adolescent sexuality, sidelining of boy survivors, and the role of schools in child protection. Interventions should support caregivers’ efforts to report violence, while also addressing gendered blame and stigma, and stigmatisation of adolescent sexuality.

Reunification in Informal Foster Care Child Placement: Examining the Different Pathways in Ghana

Informal foster care remains the preferred alternative care option for children in many parts of the world. However, the processes of reunification in informal foster care are largely unknown. This qualitative study sought to explore the reunification processes within informal foster care in Ghana to inform child protection services for better program design for such children. Twenty interviews were conducted with reunified fostered children and their biological parents. Data from the in-depth interviews with parents and children were analyzed thematically. Three main processes of reunification were identified in this study namely; open, flexible exit plans and educational threshold arrangements. The findings show that reunification pathways are informed by the factors that informed the placement. A model of reunification, based on the study findings has been suggested to guide further studies. Child protection workers should utilize the reunification model as a framework to design services for children who are reunified in informal foster care. Researchers could also utilize the reunification model as a tool to study the outcomes for children who have been reunified. Further research should also explore measures and mechanism that are needed to integrate best practices of the informal foster care processes within the formal child protection domain.

Child Protection Investigations in Scotland: A 33 Per Cent Increase in Two Years

The Scottish government plans a more preventive and partnership‐oriented approach to child protection. However, it has not recently published statistics on the number of child protection investigations. This paper analyses data from a request for information from government. It shows a rate of 153 investigations per 10 000 children aged 0–17 in 2017/18. There were wide variations in rates of investigations across Scottish local authorities. Almost three‐quarters of investigations in 2017/18 did not lead to the child being placed on the child protection register. A small association between investigation rates and local authority deprivation suggests that factors other than deprivation at the local authority level are at play in decisions to investigate child protection. There has been an increase of investigations by one‐third in the last two years with no change in the numbers starting a child protection plan. These trends raise the possibility that concerns about the preventive approach net‐widening and leading to more rather than less children drawn into the formal child protection system may have some basis. The limited nature of published statistical data in Scotland means that policies and activities, which are carried out with large amounts of public funding, receive limited public scrutiny.Key Practitioner Messages One investigation was conducted for every 65 children in Scotland in 2017/18. One child in 23 was investigated before the age of four. Rates of investigation vary widely between local authorities. One in four investigations are likely to lead to a child protection registration. There was a 33 per cent increase in investigations in the most recent two years with no change in child protection registrations. Investigations harm families and lessen the chances of engaging them with support. ‘The limited nature of published statistical data in Scotland means that policies and activities, which are carried out with large amounts of public funding, receive limited public scrutiny’

Local child protection in the Philippines: A case study of actors, processes and key risks for children

AbstractThis article explores the child protection actors, processes and child maltreatment issues in a regional Local Government Unit in the Philippines. Utilising a qualitative case study design, it engages with 14 young people with histories of child maltreatment and 13 key child protection actors, exploring their views and experiences of child protection actions, processes and outcomes. The findings highlight informal community‐based actors, including neighbours, family, friends and non‐government organisations in initial responses to child maltreatment, compared to formal child protection actors, who respond to severe maltreatment utilising a legal framework. Actors are constrained by limited government capacity and community reach, revealing misalignment between formal child protection activities and breadth of risks for children. Non‐government organisations assist child protection efforts through the provision of residential care. Policy recommendations include strengthening relationships between formal actors and communities, expanding early intervention activities, and developing the capacity of community‐based child protection actors.

The Role of Para Social Workers in Rural Communities in Uganda: Strengthening Community Resilience for the Protection of Children

Para social workers (PSWs) are widely used in African nations to address inadequate capacity in the professional workforce, but there is to date very little academic commentary on the effectiveness of their role. This article considers the potential efficacy of the PSW model in strengthening child protection at community level in Uganda. Twenty interviews were conducted with local government officers, civil society organisation staff and PSWs (10 in each of 2 rural areas), together with four supplementary expert interviews. The data were analysed using a framework of community resilience. The findings suggest that the model has considerable potential to strengthen community‐level protection of children in circumstances in which the operation of formal systems is limited by resource constraints and outside interventions may struggle to gain understanding and acceptance within communities. Challenges include the potential for conflicts of interest to arise and the implications of increased reporting of child maltreatment for the response of the formal child protection system, including alternative care arrangements. Given its widespread and developing usage, further research to understand the conditions under which the PSW model is most effective and sustainable in different social, economic, political and cultural contexts is essential.‘This article considers the potential efficacy of the PSW [para social worker] model in strengthening child protection at community level in Uganda’Key Practitioner Messages PSWs can provide significant additional capacity to community‐level child protection arrangements at little cost in a culturally appropriate fashion. A key strength of the PSW model lies in its potential to regenerate community resources through the engagement of community members. Developing sustainable community‐based child protection arrangements requires that attention is paid to balancing fiscal considerations against community ownership and also the response of the formal child protection system to increased reporting of child maltreatment.

Safeguarding Children and Young People During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Safeguarding Children and Young People During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Childhood Maltreatment: Experiences and Perceptions Among Chinese Young People.

The study aimed to investigate young Chinese people's childhood and adolescence exposure to maltreatment from all types of perpetrators, and to explore their perceptions of such experiences. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 1,255 young people at three universities located in Zhejiang Province, Eastern China. A questionnaire drawing on validated tools was developed to measure childhood and adolescence exposure to physical and emotional maltreatment. Physical and emotional maltreatment by any perpetrator before the age of 18 years was reported by 83.3% and 85.9% of the students, respectively; extreme forms were not rare. Overall, 68.8% of the students reported physical maltreatment by parents, 56.1% by teachers, 29.8% by peers, 11.7% by siblings, and 9.1% by grandparents; 58.5% reported emotional maltreatment by parents, 43.3% by teachers, 53.3% by peers, 12.0% by siblings, and 10.0% by grandparents. Physical or emotional maltreatment by any perpetrator was common in all sociodemographic groups, irrespective of urban/rural residence and economic status. Risk factors for maltreatment differ with type of maltreatment and perpetrator. Personal experience of emotional maltreatment was generally perceived as more harmful and less acceptable than physical, especially in females. In conclusion, high levels of maltreatment of children and adolescents in China indicate the need for (a) parent education about appropriate discipline measures when raising children, (b) teacher education and enforcement of existing laws banning institutional corporal punishment, (c) the adoption of a comprehensive anti-bullying strategy, and (d) the development of a formal child protection system to protect and support the most vulnerable families.

Child and family welfare in practice in Lithuania just as professional observe

Child welfare and child rights protection is relevant issue in every democratic country. Different countries develop different approaches to child protection systems, creating policy of child protection, legislating documents and establishing formal child protection services (Gilbert, 2012; Connolly et al., 2014; Biesel et al., 2020). The child’s potential is understood in the context of his/her development and welfare. Welfare is a dynamic process influenced by multiple factors. Children interact with their environment and take an active role in creating their welfare, with or without resources, coping with or without stress, and so on (Bradshaw et al., 2007). The aim of the paper is to describe and explain the configuration of the child and family welfare system based on the conceptual reflections of child and family welfare concepts in the practice of Lithuanian’s child and family welfare professionals. The study is based on the conceptual concepts of child welfare developed by Gilbert and an international team of researchers (Gilbert et al., 2011), highlighting the definition of the problem frame, the mode and aim of the intervention, and the state-parent relationship. The paper presents a study that raises the question of how often child and family welfare system specialists observe various features of conceptual components of child and family welfare in their professional practice, such as problem frame, mode of intervention, aim of intervention, and state-family relationship. A questionnaire survey was conducted. The survey covered a total of 501 respondents, the child and family welfare system professionals. Results demonstrate, that in dimension of problem frame child protection approach is observed (according to Gilbert et al., 2011; Gilbert, 2012). Within this approach dysfunctional parenting as maltreating parents is accentuated. [...].

Who’s in the Child’s Corner: Bringing Family, Community, and Child Protective Services Together for the Protection of Children

With the enactment of the US Family First Prevention Services Act (FFA) in 2018 came a renewed focus on the types and quality of services provided to families involved in the child protective service (CPS) system. However, identifying and disseminating evidence-based approaches is only one part of what is needed to protect children from harm. The role of family, school, and community is often de-emphasized, yet these systems typically have a greater capacity to protect children than formal service providers. The authors call for a rigorous multisystemic approach to the protection of children, one that pays attention to children at risk of harm and those who are involved in formal child protection systems because they have experienced maltreatment. A multisystemic approach would focus largely on a child’s natural ecology (i.e., family, school, community) and include a much broader array of possible interventions. This article draws from the authors’ experiences of implementing ecologically-based treatment models based on multisystemic therapy, including the Neighborhood Solutions Project (NS) and Multisystemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect (MST-CAN). Although designed primarily for formal intervention (i.e., youth at risk of community violence and families who are experiencing child abuse and neglect), the MST-related broad systemic approach, including its core treatment principles and an analytic process has wider applicability. For example, the MST processes were central to meeting community needs targeting health and well-being in a rural village in the eastern region of Ghana where no child protection system existed. Likewise, the MST-related approach is applicable to a fuller spectrum of family needs (e.g., families at risk of but not experiencing maltreatment) and to a wider array of professionals and laypeople working with child protection-involved/at risk for involvement families. Bringing family, community, and child protective services (i.e., multiple systems) together through a shared vision for the protection of children may be the most effective way to ultimately keep all children safe.

How Do Jewish Communities Respond to Manifestations of Institutional Child Sexual Abuse? A Case Study of Malka Leifer and Adass Israel in Melbourne, Australia

ABSTRACTThe recent Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse provided some insight into manifestations of child sexual abuse within an ultra-orthodox Jewish community. This paper extends the analysis by the Royal Commission (RC) to another Australian ultra-orthodox community that of Adass Israel, whereby a former school headmistress allegedly abused multiple students and then fled to the State of Israel in 2008. That case is unusual given that both the perpetrator and victims were female. Attention is drawn to a number of components similar to the RC findings pertaining to the particular vulnerability of children within ultra-orthodox communities given the absence of sex education and entrenched patriarchal authority, the reluctance of such communities to report child sexual abuse (CSA) allegations to secular authorities and associated cultural and religious factors, the failure of community leaders within or beyond Australia to support or compensate CSA survivors, and the absence of formal child protection protocols. Additionally, some conclusions are drawn about the key role played by advocacy groups such as Jewish Community Watch in exposing the global travel of child sex offenders, and the problematic legal protection provided to many such offenders by the State of Israel’s Law of Return.

Factors associated with child protection recurrence in Australia

The aim of the current research was to advance understanding of child protection in Australia by examining the factors associated with recurrence of child protection notifications to the formal child protection system. Extant research has been primarily undertaken in the USA and it is important to understand whether similar factors associated with recurrence actually hold in the Australian context. Administrative data were obtained for a sample of 9608 children first subject to a screened-in report in 2011–12. Children were followed for 12 months. Cox Proportional Hazard models were used to measure associations between 26 independent variables and four types of recurrence: subsequent reports, subsequent investigations, subsequent substantiations, and subsequent intervention. Factors associated with recurrence in Australia were broadly similar to those identified in other jurisdictions, including reports and substantiation for neglect, younger age, prior child protection involvement in the household, and parental characteristics including drug use, mental health problems, and history of maltreatment as a child. As in previous studies, post-investigative service provision was positively associated with recurrence. In prior US research, race did not predict recurrence. However, in the present study, Indigenous Australian children were significantly more likely to be subject to all types of recurrence measured. Future research on recurrence should aim to disentangle the complex relationships between child protection recurrence, child maltreatment, and service delivery. Recurrence is not a good proxy indicator of child safety. The findings have implications for the equity of recurrence-based risk assessment tools as they are applied to indigenous populations.

Policies on bruises in premobile children: Why we need improved standards for policymaking

AbstractThis review of the 91 English children's services departments with specific policies on bruising in premobile children found a major disjuncture between research evidence and its interpretation in guidance. Many policies require all premobile children found with a bruise to be seen urgently by a paediatrician, and in some, all bruised children are subject of a formal child protection investigation regardless of the explanations for the bruise or the views of front‐line practitioners. However, the research on bruises in premobile children on which these policies were based was found to be limited and contradictory and did not fully support the guidance given. National guidance given by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and many local policies state that bruising in premobile children is suggestive of physical abuse because accidental bruising is uncommon despite the only longitudinal study of bruising showing 27% of premobile children were bruised over an average of 7.6 weekly observations. The paper calls for an urgent review of these policies and guidance and improved standards for policymaking.

Maltreated Children Use More Grammatical Negations

Many studies reveal a strong impact of childhood maltreatment on language development, mainly resulting in shorter utterances, less rich vocabulary, or a delay in grammatical complexity. However, different theories suggest the possibility for resilience—a positive adaptation to an otherwise adverse environment—in children who experienced childhood maltreatment. Here, we investigated different measures for language development in spontaneous speech, examining whether childhood maltreatment leads to a language deficit only or whether it can also result in differences in language use due to a possible adaptation to a toxic environment. We compared spontaneous speech during therapeutic peer-play sessions of 32 maltreated and 32 non-maltreated children from the same preschool and equivalent in gender, age (2 to 5 years), home neighborhood, ethnicity, and family income. Maltreatment status was reported by formal child protection reports, and corroborated by independent social service reports. We investigated general language sophistication (i.e., vocabulary, talkativeness, mean length of utterance), as well as grammatical development (i.e., use of plurals, tense, grammatical negations). We found that maltreated and non-maltreated children showed similar sophistication across all linguistic measures, except for the use of grammatical negations. Maltreated children used twice as many grammatical negations as non-maltreated children. The use of this highly complex grammatical structure shows an advanced linguistic skill, which shows that childhood maltreatment does not necessarily lead to a language deficit. The result might indicate the development of a negativity bias in the structure of spontaneous language due to an adaptation to their experiences.

A Qualitative Evaluation of Community Nurses' Experiences of Child Safeguarding Supervision

Key Practitioner Messages Safeguarding supervision was viewed as a child‐focused, helpful activity that has led to practice improvements. Negative comments were in the minority and related to perceptions of its intrusive and punitive nature, the time involved and competing priorities. Improvements advocated were that safeguarding supervision should include discussion about children whose care is problematic but who are not subject to formal child protection proceedings.

Linking family engagement with a rights perspective: macro factors influencing practice

ABSTRACTWhile child welfare practitioners in many countries are struggling to develop methods of effective family engagement, they operate within different national and cultural contexts that influence, both positively and negatively, the ability to engage with families. Increasingly, international comparisons are necessary to further understanding of the development of social work practice. This is particularly necessary because most countries utilize international frameworks (such as the United National Convention on the Rights of the Child) to provide guidance in the development of policies, programs, and interventions. Each country (and locality) struggles to advance practice to be more effective and humane. Our paper offers a comparative analysis focused on family-oriented and rights-based frameworks of different countries. Based on a review of current national policies and a review of the literature regarding family-based practices, we examine similarities and differences among four countries: the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States, and South Korea. These countries were selected because they have some similarities (advanced industrialized democracies, professional social work, and formal child protection systems) but have some differences in their social welfare systems (policies, specific practices, and socio-cultural context). These differences can be utilized to advance understanding regarding the promise and potential for family engagement strategies. We then discuss the utility of this comparison for theory-building in the arena of child-care practice and conclude by identifying the challenges and limitations of this work.

OP‐8 SOCIAL CONCERNS IN CHILDREN BEING INVESTIGATED FOR CHRONIC INTESTINAL PSEUDO‐OBSTRUCTION

Background And Aims:Fabricated induced illness (FII) is recognised amongst children presenting with suspected Chronic Intestinal Pseudo‐Obstruction (CIPO) (Hyman 2012). We aimed to investigate the presence, nature and potential causes of social concerns in children being referred to our national centre with possible CIPO.Methods:All patients accepted into the CIPO diagnostic pathway over 3 years (April 2012‐April 2015) were reviewed. Acceptance criteria included all of the following (1) referral from a paediatric gastroenterologist or surgeon suspecting a diagnosis of CIPO, (2) mechanical obstruction of the intestine excluded and 3) reliance on specialised enteral or parenteral feeding. The presence and nature of social concerns were recorded pre‐ & post‐assessment along with associated characteristics pertaining to the referral, family situation as well as child protection. Comparison was made to referrals to the IBD service within the department.Results:Of 78 accepted children (mean 5.2 years, 42F) 57 were diagnosed with CIPO, 53 (4.2yrs 31F) by abnormal antroduodenal manometry (ADM) and 4, unsuitable for ADM, by clinical picture. Of the remaining 21 patients (5.8yrs 12F) with normal ADM, 8 were found to have FII; 4 driven by a parent and 4 by the patient (teenage girls). The remaining 13 patients had non‐CIPO diagnoses. Of those with normal ADM 17/21 had social concerns; 10 with formal child protection or FII and 7 with concerns over treatment compliance and ambiguity of symptoms. Of those with CIPO 18/57 had social concerns including 2 formally listed as child protection for neglect/parenting concerns and 1 with possible FII. The remaining CIPO cases had a variety of concerns mainly around ambiguity and reliability of reporting. Comparison with a newly diagnosed IBD cohort (161 patients) during the same period revealed only 7 with social concerns. Recurrent themes in those with social concerns, particularly CIPO, included consumerism, internet and media involvement (Facebook, fundraising and celebrity events), resistance to positive news and pain predominant clinical picture.Conclusions:Social concerns (including safeguarding and child protection) in children thought to have CIPO are prevalent (45%) and approximately 10‐fold higher than seen in IBD (4.3%). Although commoner in non‐CIPO patients, social concerns are also prevalent in those proven to have CIPO (32%). These concerns should be explored and addressed along with an emerging ‘profile’ of associated risk factors such as use of multi‐media, medical consumerism and a pain predominant clinical picture.

Child maltreatment in China: a cross-sectional study of prevalence and attitudes among young adults

BackgroundNo formal child protection system exists in China, and redress can be made only through the legal system. Consequently, all forms of child maltreatment are massively under-reported. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of child maltreatment in China and attitudes towards physical punishment by exploring the experiences of young adults. MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out in 1255 college students in three colleges in Zhejiang province. A self-administered questionnaire, based on Conflict Tactics Scale—Parent Child and International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) Child Abuse Screening Tool, was developed to measure childhood (younger than 18 years) experience of different forms of maltreatment, including physical maltreatment, psychological aggression, and sexual abuse, and attitudes towards discipline. All participants gave informed consent. The study was approved by Zhejiang University Ethics Board. Data was analysed in SPSS 22.0. FindingsParticipants were aged 17–26 years; 640 (51%) were female, 733 (59%) were from rural areas, and 506 (41%) were from urban areas, with 167 (13%) from self-reported high-income backgrounds, 824 (67%) from middle-income backgrounds, and 246 (20%) from low-income backgrounds (some participants did not provide data for residence and family income background). 1014 (81%) had experienced physical maltreatment, 1026 (82%) psychological aggression, and 170 (14%) sexual abuse. Most common forms of maltreatment by parents were hitting or punching (54%), hitting with implements (29%), threatening to spank without doing it actually (29%), insulting (22%), and forcing to stand or kneel in a humiliating or painful way (19%). 473 (38%) were forced to stand or kneel, and 406 (32%) were insulted by teachers. Among college students who experienced physical maltreatment, 763 (75%) thought that it was necessary for good discipline and thus justified. 364 (43%) of 842 thought hitting and punching were not harmful, with 161 (35%) of 464 saying that the use of implements, 137 (39%) of 350 saying that kicking, and 257 (40%) of 644 reporting that being forced to stand or kneel were not harmful. However, experience of psychological aggression was widely perceived as harmful; 544 (89%) of 614 who were insulted, 60 (78%) of 77 who were told they were not loved, 92 (80%) of 115 who wished they were dead, and 118 (67%) of 177 threatened with abandonment felt that such verbal maltreatment had caused short-term and long-term harm. InterpretationChild maltreatment is common in China. However, experience of psychological aggression was perceived to be more harmful than physical maltreatment, which has important implications for parenting advice and should help to inform the nascent development of a child protection system in China. FundingChina Scholar Council (CSC) and Universities' China Committee in London (UCCL).