Looking at a Blind Spot: Using a Longitudinal Population Cohort Study to Examine Inequalities in Child Social Worker Contact Among Mothers Experiencing Domestic Abuse in Scotland

Abstract

Research on inequalities in children's services in the UK highlights a lack of systematic data on parental demographics, obstructing analysis of structural factors influencing children's outcomes. Using Growing Up in Scotland, a nationally representative longitudinal child cohort study of children born in 2004–2005, we investigate social inequalities in social work contact for children living with parental domestic violence and abuse (working sample n = 3216). Using logit models, we examine associations between self-reported maternal experiences of domestic violence and abuse (when children were aged 0–6 years old) and social work service contact for study children (across ages 2–7 years old), controlling for socio-demographic factors, illicit substance use, alcohol consumption, parental separation and maternal mental health. Maternal reports of domestic violence and abuse significantly increased the likelihood of social worker contact for the study child. Social worker involvement was far more likely in low-income households. Where domestic violence and abuse had been reported, social worker contact was twice as likely for boys than for girls. Findings suggest significant socio-economic disparities and gender discrepancies in the social work service response in the context of domestic violence and abuse. These patterns raise concerns about the potential for social work engagement being stratified by socio-economic status and underidentification of girls' needs in domestic violence and abuse contexts.