National Survey Of Child And Adolescent Well-Being Research Articles

Cross-informant agreement between caregivers and teachers for prosocial behavior across child welfare settings

Healthy social functioning has been a growing focus for understanding children’s positive development and well-being. Despite the flexibility and cost-effectiveness of behavior rating scales, there has been a rising issue of concern in both practice and research applications regarding rating scales and its low cross-informant agreement. The present study aimed to analyze the extent to which caregivers and teachers agree about children’s prosocial behaviors, identify whether there were differences in the degree of agreement across child welfare settings, and ultimately offer recommendations for assessing behavior for children involved with child welfare services. To do so, the reports of 1224 children, caregivers, and teachers from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) I who have been investigated by Child Protective Services (CPS) for abuse and/or neglect have been examined. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) of caregiver and teacher assessment of children’s prosocial functioning were calculated to understand the degree of agreement in their perceptions of children’s prosocial behaviors. ICC values presented show that agreement was low but significant across all samples and subscales (ICC range, 0.11–0.22). It is suggested that future researchers pursue examination of the underlying mechanisms or factors that contribute to informant discrepancies.

The third national survey of child and adolescent well-being: Design overview and methodological lessons learned during the baseline wave

The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) is a national survey that follows children and families who have been the subjects of investigation by child protective services agencies. NSCAW is the only source of nationally representative, longitudinal data on the well-being of children and families involved with the child welfare system (CWS). The survey examines child and family well-being outcomes in detail and seeks to relate those outcomes to experience with the CWS and to family characteristics, service needs and receipt, community environments, and other factors. To date, there have been three cohorts of NSCAW. The design of NSCAW III was guided by three priorities: (1) keeping NSCAW III as comparable to the two previous cohorts as possible, (2) minimizing response burden for all participants, and (3) updating the NSCAW III sample and instruments as needed to reflect the composition and characteristics of children being served by the CWS in 2017. NSCAW III includes 3,298 children ranging in age from 0 to 17.5 years old at the time of sampling. Children were sampled from child welfare investigations closed between July 2017 and September 2021. We provide information about methodological and operational challenges faced during the enrollment of NSCAW III (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic, state-level refusals) that required a new level of persistence and creativity, a pivot from past approaches, and the identification of solutions to maintain the integrity of this nationally representative study.

The relationship between diurnal cortisol slope and cognitive development among children maltreated as infants

Little is known about the role of hypothalamic–pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis functioning for children’s cognitive development, especially among vulnerable groups. The current study explores the relationship between diurnal cortisol slope and cognitive outcomes among children at the ages of 5 and 6 who have been maltreated as infants and involved with child protective services, using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) I (N = 158). Multiple regression analyses showed that a greater decline in salivary cortisol from morning to evening was positively associated with scores on applied problems and expressive communication, even after adjustment for confounding. It was also associated with lower odds of cognitive disability. There were null associations with letter-word identification, passage comprehension, auditory comprehension, matrices, and vocabulary. Results suggest that children involved with child protective services as infants, and thus exposed early to likely ‘toxic’ levels of stressors, may face dysregulation of the HPA axis and particular difficulties in some aspects of cognitive function. Potential explanations and implications for policy are discussed.

The Importance of Sibling Relationships in Buffering Against Depressive Symptoms of Youth in Foster Care

Sibling relationships are among the most influential relationships of one’s life. For youth in foster care, sibling relationships may be particularly important. Using National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) II data, this study tested if higher sibling relationship quality was associated with lower depressive symptoms among youth in foster care, and the interactive effects of relationships with siblings and biological mothers on youth depressive symptoms. Results indicated higher sibling and mother relationship quality were associated with lower depressive symptoms. Regarding interactive associations, the protective effects of sibling relationships on youth depressive symptoms were stronger when youth reported lower levels of relationship quality with biological mothers, highlighting the importance of good sibling relationships, especially in the absence of a positive relationship with biological mothers.

Family ties: A quasi-experimental approach to estimate the impact of kinship care on child well-being

The reliance on kinship care within the child welfare system is substantial and has been recently codified into new federal legislation, the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018, as well as recent emphases that the Indian Child Welfare Act represents the “gold standard” for all child welfare practice and policy. This article uses longitudinal data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW) II to analyze the impact of kinship care on child well-being as compared to non-relative foster care. We use propensity score matching to mitigate the selection bias inherent in child placement decisions and find that children who exceed the clinical threshold for externalizing behaviors are less likely to be placed in kinship care than foster care. We find that once accounting for differences in child and caregiver characteristics among those in kinship care and foster care, the effect of kinship care on behavioral and emotional well-being is not significantly different than foster care, though are in the direction of favoring kinship care. These findings contribute to a more sophisticated understanding of the effect of kinship care on child well-being and overcome some key limitations of most prior research on this topic.

Validating the factor structure of the drug free schools and communities scale for child welfare involved youth

ABSTRACT The Drug Free Schools and Communities Act scale (DFSCA) has been widely used to measure school engagement in studies utilizing the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) data. Recent analyses using NSCAW-I suggest that the best use of the DFSCA scale is a three-factor structure measuring emotional, behavioral, and cognitive-behavioral engagement. However, this three-factor structure presented concerns with the cognitive-behavioral engagement construct, warranting further analyses. This study aimed to test the three-factor structure in separate samples, and to test an alternative model that excluded the cognitive-behavioral engagement construct. Using NSCAW-II data, we performed a series of confirmatory factor analyses, to explore the fit of the hypothesized and alternative models across three random samples. We extracted three random samples from the NSCAW-II data, without replication. Each sub-sample represented 20 % of the larger NSCAW-II sample. The samples included children between the ages of 6 and 15 who were involved with the child welfare system due to a maltreatment report. Results indicated that both the three-factor structure that includes the cognitive-behavioral engagement construct, and the two-factor structure that excludes the factor fit the data well. Implications for using these factor structures in future research is discussed.

Latent class analysis risk profiles: An effective method to predict a first re-report of maltreatment?

Recurrence of child maltreatment is a significant concern causing substantial individual, family and societal cost. Variable-based approaches to identifying targets for intervention may not reflect the reality that families may experience multiple co-occurring risks. An alternative approach was tested using baseline data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW) I and II to develop Latent Class Analysis models of family risk classes using variables derived from prior studies of re-reporting. The samples were collected approximately 10 years apart offering a chance to test how the approach might be impacted by demographic or policy shifts. The association between baseline classes and later re-reports was tested using both samples. A two-class model of high versus low presence of baseline risk resulted that was strongly associated with later likelihood of re-report and results were relatively stable across the two studies. Person-centered approaches may hold promise in the early identification of families that require a more comprehensive array of supports to prevent re-reports of maltreatment.

Victimization and Adversity in Child Welfare Involved Youth: The Cumulative Influence on Child and Caregiver Reported Behavioral Health Symptoms.

Exposure to childhood victimization and adversity (CVA) is pervasive for child welfare (CW) involved youth. However, most research with CW samples has focused on types of maltreatment and fails to recognize the additive influence of exposure to CVA beyond maltreatment. A subsample aged 8 to 17 (n = 1,887) was drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) II. CVA included six domains. Behavioral health was assessed using the Child Depression Inventory, Trauma Symptom Checklist, and the internalizing and externalizing subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist. Logistic regression was used to explore the association between the number of CVA reported and the risk of clinical-range behavioral health symptoms. Analyses were adjusted for the cluster-based sampling design and sampling weights were applied to provide nationally representative estimates. More than 60% of the sample experienced three or more CVA domains. The number of CVAs reported was associated with all four behavioral health outcomes (p < .001). Children exposed to five or more domains were more likely to report high depressive symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 5.0), high trauma symptoms (OR = 7.0), and to have internalizing or externalizing symptoms reported by caregivers (OR = 18.0), as compared with children reporting one or less CVAs. Youth involved with CW are exposed to staggeringly high rates of CVA beyond maltreatment. For children who are already at great risk for behavioral health challenges, research to understand screening and interventions for CVA is needed to inform policy and practice initiatives to prevent and mitigate harm.

The prevalence of substance use in child welfare and general population eighth graders in the United States

Background: Early substance use is an established risk factor for substance abuse and dependence. Objective: The current study sought to examine whether child welfare-involved eighth graders have higher rates of early substance use than general population eighth graders. Data from the first National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) were analyzed to assess the prevalence of self-reported substance use, including alcohol, marijuana, and inhalant use in child welfare-involved eighth graders (N = 896). These figures were compared to general eighth grade student population estimates from the Monitoring the Future Study (N = 16,900) using 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Finally, regression analyses were conducted to examine demographic predictors (i.e., age, gender, race/ethnicity, and out-of-home placement) of substance use among child welfare eighth graders. Results: Results indicated comparable or lower incidence of substances among child welfare eighth graders relative to the general population, but higher past 30-day inhalant use among child welfare youth in out-of-home placement (17.1%, 95% CI: 6.0%, 40.2%) than the general population (4.2%, 95% CI: 3.7%, 4.7%). Out-of-home placement was associated with higher inhalant use (lifetime β = .659, p = .034; 30-day β = .763, p = .040) and alcohol use (lifetime β = .415, p = .028). Conclusions/Importance: These findings imply the need for screening and prevention education about substance use in child welfare populations, particularly in regards to inhalant use.

Inhalant Use Among Child Welfare–Involved Adolescents

Illicit substance use, especially of inhalants, is a public health crisis during adolescence, particularly for maltreated youths. This study advances the literature by highlighting the prevalence of inhalant use among child welfare–involved adolescents. Using the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) II data set, case-status factors, problem behaviors, deviant peers, delinquency, depression, and school peer engagement were inspected using logistic regression. Females, delinquency, deviant peers, problematic behaviors, and depression are positively related to inhalant use, whereas youth school peer engagement mitigates inhalant use. Attention to peer relationships and psychosocial risk factors is necessary for adolescents.

Infant temperament and behavioral problems: analysis of high-risk infants in child welfare

ABSTRACTResearchers have demonstrated the association between difficult temperament in infancy and early childhood behavioral problems, but to date this has not been demonstrated in the child welfare population. This study utilized the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of children in the child-welfare system. The sample consisted of 1084 infants 0–12 months old at baseline who were investigated for suspected child abuse. The researchers used longitudinal, multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between difficult temperament score in infants 0–12 months who had child welfare involvement and clinical-range Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000) score at 36-months-follow-up. Findings from this study suggest that among children with substantiated maltreatment, difficult temperament in infancy predicts early childhood behavioral problems. This relationship persists after adjusting for other risk factors, such as placement, caregiver depression, and family income. The study also discusses implications for child welfare practices.Abbreviations: National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing II (NSCAW-II); Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL); Early Childhood Behavioral Problems (ECBPs)

Assessing risk of commercial sexual exploitation among children involved in the child welfare system

The objective of this study was to assess item characteristics indicative of the severity of risk for commercial sexual exploitation among a high-risk population of child welfare system involved youth to inform the construction of a screening tool. Existing studies have discerned factors that differentiate Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) victims from sexual abuse victims, yet no research has been conducted to discriminate which items in a high risk population of youth are most predictive of CSEC. Using the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) cohorts I and II, we examined responses from 1063 males and 1355 females ages 11 and older, over three interview periods. A 2-parameter logistic Item Response Theory (2 PL IRT) model was employed in order to examine item performance as potential indicators for the severity of risk for CSEC. Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis was conducted in order to examine potential differences in item responses based on gender. Modeling strategies to assess item difficulty and discrimination were outlined and Item Characteristic Curves for the final retained items were presented. Evidence for uniform DIF were present within items that asked about runaway, any drug use, suicidality, and experiencing severe violence. Results from this study can inform the construction of a screening instrument to assess the severity of risk for experiencing CSEC.

The educational attainment of maltreated youth involved with the child welfare system: Exploring the intersection of race and gender

Gaps in academic achievement between minority and White students are well documented in the literature. Research demonstrates that systemic inequities related to race are often the source of the achievement gap. Some reports, however, suggest that the achievement gap is not only due to racial differences, but rather the intersection of race and gender. While these reports use an intersectional approach to examine differences in educational attainment within the general population, this approach has not been tested among maltreated youth involved with the child welfare system. Using an intersectional framework, this study investigated whether race and gender alone or the intersection of race and gender predicted the educational attainment of 429 maltreated youth involved with the U.S. child welfare system. Secondary data analysis was conducted using two waves of data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I). After holding household poverty, maltreatment type and severity, and caregiver education constant, race and gender alone did not predict the likelihood of youth completing their education. However, when analyzing educational attainment based on the intersection of race and gender, Black males were significantly less likely to complete their education than White males, White females, and Hispanic females. These results highlight the prevalence of educational gaps for Black males who are victims of maltreatment and illustrates the importance of using an intersectional lens in maltreatment research and practice to identify such vulnerabilities.

Educational attainment for youth who were maltreated in adolescence: Investigating the influence of maltreatment type and foster care placement

Decades of research have consistently shown a link between foster care and low rates of high school completion. Despite the overwhelming knowledge surrounding this association, it remains unclear whether the low rates of high school completion are due to placement in foster care or the maltreatment and other contextual factors that foster care youth have experienced. This study examined the extent to which (a) maltreatment type and (b) foster care placement were associated with the educational attainment of 337 maltreated adolescents. Logistic regression analyses were conducted using two waves of data and the ACR dataset of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). After controlling for academic risk factors related to the adolescents (age, race, and gender), their family (household poverty and parental education), and their environment (community environment), neither maltreatment type nor foster care placement status were associated with subsequent high school completion.Overall, only 58% of the maltreated adolescents reported completing their education. That is about 15% less than the national average at the time data were collected for this study. Results, overall, suggest a need for educational supports and interventions for youth who experience maltreatment during their adolescent years, regardless of maltreatment type and foster care placement.

Gender differences in pathways from physical and sexual abuse to early substance use

Early substance use (i.e., before age 14) is a known risk factor for substance use disorder, but scarce research has examined gender differences in pathways to early substance use. This study applies a developmental traumatology perspective to examine the relations between child physical and sexual abuse and early substance use among youths investigated by child protective services (CPS), a population with high risk for substance use disorder. Drawing from the first National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), a sample of 11–13year olds (n=467 girls, n=329 boys) was examined. Multiple group path analysis assessed gender differences in the relations between physical and sexual abuse severity and early substance use and indirect effects via internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and posttraumatic stress. Focal measures included the child-reported Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (physical abuse severity), the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (posttraumatic stress), the Youth Self-Report (internalizing and externalizing problems), and the NSCAW's caseworker-alleged abuse (sexual abuse severity) and child substance abuse modules (any current alcohol, marijuana, hard drug, inhalant, or nonmedical prescription drug use). Significant indirect effects of physical abuse severity to early substance use were found through externalizing behavior problems in girls only (β=0.068; 95% CI=0.029, 0.130; p=0.004), with a significantly stronger relation between externalizing problems and early substance use in girls. Results suggest gender differences in the sequelae of trauma as they relate to early onset substance use and the need to integrate mental health and substance use services.

Fostering Resilient Development: Protective Factors Underlying Externalizing Trajectories of Maltreated Children

This study investigated patterns of the developmental trajectories of externalizing behavior problems among 449 young maltreated children (ages 4–5) over a period of approximately eight years and examined the roles of maltreatment and protective factors in shaping various trajectory patterns. Secondary research was conducted using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I). Latent class growth analysis identified three distinctive externalizing trajectory groups: high–decreasing (10%); moderate–increasing (13%); low–stable (77%). Physically or sexually abused children were more likely to be in the high–decreasing group whereas male and Black children were more likely to be in the moderate–increasing group. Child prosocial skills and caregiver well-being decreased the probability of membership in the high–decreasing group compared to the low–stable group. The findings suggest that, despite early exposure to trauma, many maltreated children display a low or normal level of externalizing behavior problems over time, providing empirical evidence of resilience in maltreated children. Interventions focusing on enhancing child prosocial skills and caregiver well-being may be helpful in lowering the risk of clinically significant externalizing behavior problems over the course of childhood among maltreated children.

Early childhood aggression among child welfare involved children: The interplay between the type of child maltreatment and ecological protective factors

The current study examined four types of maltreatment (i.e., physical, sexual, emotional, neglect) and ecological protective factors (i.e., child prosocial skills, parental warmth, parental well-being, neighborhood safety) as predictors of aggressive behavior among young children in the child welfare system. Further, this study explored interaction effects between maltreatment types and protective factors on early childhood aggression. Ordinary least squares (OLS) hierarchical multiple regression was performed on a sample of 499 children (ages 4–5) drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I). Physical abuse was associated with higher levels of early childhood aggression whereas living in a neighborhood with fewer problems was associated with lower levels of aggression. Novel interaction effects also emerged; the protective effects of child prosocial skills and parental well-being on aggression were significantly stronger in emotionally abused children than in children who were not emotionally abused. The findings suggest that interventions that address both the type of maltreatment and ecological protective factors may be effective in reducing early childhood aggression among at-risk children.

The joint impact of parental psychological neglect and peer isolation on adolescents’ depression

Adolescents receive psychological or emotional care from both parents and peers, which is crucial for mental health at this stage. Little research has been undertaken to evaluate the experience and consequences of caregiver psychological neglect during adolescence. Less is known about the unique and combined impacts of neglectful experiences with parents and peers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between exposure to caregiver psychological neglect and isolation from peers with depression for a population of at-risk adolescents. A sample of 2776 adolescents who represent a cohort population of adolescents in contact with Child Protective Services in the U.S. was studied. Data come from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW) and are pooled across four waves representing seven years duration. Structural equation modeling with latent variables was used to estimate within-time associations. A two-stage-least squares path model was used to determine within-time reciprocal effects between depression and neglectful experiences. Adolescents who are emotionally neglected by their primary caregivers and are isolated from peers have substantially increased depression, a combined standardized effect of 0.78–0.91. Isolation from peers is more impactful for depression compared to psychological neglect by caregivers. The effects of deficits in these two primary sources of emotional support explain 40 percent of the variation in depression. The relationships between depression and peer isolation and depression and psychological neglect are reciprocal, but the primary direction of effect is from neglectful experiences to depression.

Maternal depression and intimate partner violence exposure: Longitudinal analyses of the development of aggressive behavior in an at-risk sample.

A substantial body of literature has documented the negative effects of intimate partner violence (IPV) on a wide range of children's developmental outcomes. However, whether a child's exposure to IPV leads to increased adjustment difficulties is likely to depend on a variety of factors, including the caregiver's mental health and the developmental time period when IPV exposure occurs. The present study seeks to improve our understanding of the long-term effects of IPV exposure and maternal depression on the development of children's overt aggressive behavior. Longitudinal analyses (i.e., latent growth curve modeling) examining three time points (toddler: age 2-3 years, preschool/kindergarten: age 4-5 years, and elementary school: age 6-8 years) were conducted using 1,399 at-risk children drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I). IPV exposure during age 2-3 years was significantly related to concurrent aggressive behavior and aggressive behavior during age 4-5 years. At all three time points, IPV was significantly associated with maternal depression, which in turn, was significantly related to higher levels of aggressive behavior. There was also a significant indirect lagged effect of IPV exposure at age 2-3 years through maternal depression on aggressive behavior at age 4-5 years. Results indicated that maternal depression was a strong predictor of increased reports of overt aggressive behavior, suggesting that interventions to buffer the effects of IPV exposure should focus on relieving maternal depression and fostering productive social behavior in children. Aggr. Behav. 43:375-385, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Physical abuse after child protective services investigation and adolescent substance use

The longitudinal pathways connecting physical abuse and substance use in child welfare-involved adolescents, a population with multiple risk factors for substance use problems, remain unclear. This study examined the relation between self-reported physical abuse among adolescents investigated by Child Protective Services (CPS) and later substance use, with a particular focus on exposure to physical abuse after CPS investigation as a potential contributing factor to this relation. Using data from the first National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW-I), a path analysis was conducted on a sample of 1079 adolescents aged 11–15years who had recently been investigated by CPS. At baseline and 18-month follow-up, youths self-reported past-year physical abuse using the Parent-Child Conflicts Tactic Scale and past 30-day substance use frequency. At baseline, youths self-reported current internalizing and externalizing problems to the Youth Self Report. Path analysis revealed no significant relation between physical abuse at baseline and substance use at 18months. Physical abuse at baseline was associated with higher levels of concurrent substance use and externalizing problems, which in turn predicted higher substance use at 18months. Furthermore, physical abuse and externalizing problems at baseline predicted physical abuse at 18months, which in turn was related to higher substance use at 18months. The findings suggest that physical abuse after CPS investigation contributes to the development of adolescent substance use behaviors. Results indicate a need for innovative efforts to prevent physical abuse after CPS investigation, as well as assessment and treatment of substance use and externalizing problems at the point of investigation, to reduce future substance use in child welfare-involved adolescents.