Child Abuse & Neglect最新文献

{"title":"Variation in decision-making on out-of-home placements in child and family welfare services: A new approach","authors":"Anne Marie Villumsen ,&nbsp;Nikolaj Noer Poulsen ,&nbsp;Michael Rosholm","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107701","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107701","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Variation across local administrative units (municipalities) is critical in child welfare, as inconsistencies in out-of-home placement decisions can create inequalities in children's access to support. Given the impact of placement decisions on a child's well-being, and long-term outcomes, ensuring fairness and consistency is essential in promoting equal opportunities for all children.</div></div><div><h3>Objective and setting</h3><div>This study explores municipal variation in out-of-home placement decisions following referrals in Danish child and family welfare using 52.649 out-of-sample predicted risk scores on 27.341 unique children across 94 municipalities in 2016 and 2017. While existing research primarily focuses on overall placement rates or individual placement probabilities, we extend the literature by analyzing municipal differences in referral handling beyond raw rate variations.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Using a novel approach that integrates Predictive Risk Models (PRMs) with linear regressions to control for individual predicted risk scores, we isolate municipal decision-making variation from broader socioeconomic influences. This provides a clearer understanding of how referral outcomes differ across municipalities.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>First, our findings reveal that significant inter-municipal differences persist after we adjust raw placement rates for variation attributable to family and child characteristics, and calendar time variation. Second, variations in socioeconomic structures influencing child risk outcomes do not fully account for these differences. Thus, it is discussed whether the remaining variation may stem from local decision-making practices, shaped by local organizational dynamics and inherent uncertainties (such as lack of information and control over future events) in child welfare assessments.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>By emphasizing the potential role of local decision-making practices, this study advances research on decision-making and highlights the need for further investigation into how local organizational factors (such as agency policies, resource availability, work load, organizational culture and support) shape referral-placement outcomes. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107701"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157833","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Defining paediatric abusive head trauma using routinely collected patient datasets: Scoping review and testing in a UK cohort","authors":"Joni Jackson ,&nbsp;Lauren J. Scott ,&nbsp;Sarah Dawson ,&nbsp;Sharea Ijaz ,&nbsp;Rebecca Wilson ,&nbsp;Matthew Booker ,&nbsp;Kate Birnie ,&nbsp;Giles Haythornthwaite ,&nbsp;Frank De Vocht ,&nbsp;Julie Mytton ,&nbsp;Mark D. Lyttle ,&nbsp;Jelena Savović ,&nbsp;Maria Theresa Redaniel","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107641","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107641","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Suboptimal coding and underreporting of abusive head trauma (AHT) makes cases difficult to identify from routinely collected patient data, particularly if not admitted to hospital.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To identify existing AHT definitions for routine patient data and compare their impact on AHT incidence estimates when applied to a UK primary care cohort.</div></div><div><h3>Participants and setting</h3><div>Cohort participants were all infants in a large primary care database, who were under 1 year old between January 2013 and June 2021, registered at a General Practice, with linkages to secondary care and Accident and Emergency data.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>A scoping review to identify studies that used diagnostic codes or routinely collected data to define AHT in children under 5 years from electronic health records. We used the definitions identified to calculate incidence per 100,000 person-years in a UK primary care cohort to explore variability of incidence estimates.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We identified 40 eligible studies (29 definitions), with most definitions based on hospital data using ICD-9-CM and ICD-10 codes. None applied to a UK population or primary care data sources. Incidence of AHT in our cohort ranged from 9 to 15 per 100,000 person-years using “probable” or “presumptive” definitions, and up to 49 per 100,000 person-years using broader definitions including “possible” AHT.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>The wide range of hospital AHT incidence calculated in our cohort using the definitions identified in the scoping review indicates a need for a standardised definition suited to UK datasets including primary care.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107641"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157831","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Messaging to promote the public's understanding of child sexual violence as preventable, not inevitable","authors":"Rebecca L. Fix ,&nbsp;Alex T. Newman ,&nbsp;Elizabeth J. Letourneau","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107700","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107700","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Many people in the United States view childhood sexual violence (CSV) as unpreventable, which can inhibit funding for interventions and policy related to CSV prevention.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>In response to widespread fatalism that CSV is inevitable, we developed and tested language to promote public perceptions of CSV as preventable.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Twenty-two communications frames were developed by experts in the field and then evaluated through two waves of online surveys. Participants and Setting: We collected data from a nationally representative sample of 5389 people in the United States.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Results suggest two types of tested language (i.e., frames) were most impactful in shifting thinking toward prevention. The frames that included treatment-focused information including providing real interventions to people with sexual attraction to children shifted public thinking toward CSV prevention (e.g., frame that described an available perpetration prevention program from a third-person perspective (<em>β</em> = −1.79, <em>p</em> = .001)). Additionally, an education-focused frame decreased concerns about why CSV cannot be prevented (<em>β</em> = −2.21, <em>p</em> &lt; .001) increased support for collective efficacy to prevent CSV and reduced a focus on costly and ineffective policies as evidenced by written responses.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Findings suggest that with relatively brief, targeted frames, advocates, practitioners, and researchers can help shift public perceptions about CSV. Further testing and development is needed to assess the longevity of these effects and whether additional priming or supplemental information is required to sustain perceptions of CSV as preventable. Ultimately, this study resulted in development of tools, resources, and training necessary to make the case for CSV prevention research funding and to inspire collective action. Together, we can shift the narrative and demonstrate that CSV prevention is both necessary and possible.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107700"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145151775","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Defining paediatric abusive head trauma using routinely collected patient datasets: Definition development for a UK primary care cohort","authors":"Joni Jackson ,&nbsp;Lauren J. Scott ,&nbsp;Sarah Dawson ,&nbsp;Sharea Ijaz ,&nbsp;Rebecca Wilson ,&nbsp;Matthew Booker ,&nbsp;Kate Birnie ,&nbsp;Giles Haythornthwaite ,&nbsp;Frank De Vocht ,&nbsp;Julie Mytton ,&nbsp;Mark D. Lyttle ,&nbsp;Jelena Savović ,&nbsp;Maria Theresa Redaniel","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107680","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107680","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Existing definitions used to identify abusive head trauma (AHT) from routinely collected patient data are developed for use in secondary care or mortality data. Incidence estimates calculated using these definitions do not include mildly symptomatic cases of AHT presenting to primary care, therefore underestimating the true population incidence.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To (1) develop AHT definitions for use with primary care, secondary care and accident and emergency data in the UK setting; (2) compare incidence using these definitions in a UK primary care cohort.</div></div><div><h3>Participants and setting</h3><div>The cohort included all infants in Clinical Practice Research Database (CPRD) Aurum, under 1 year old between January 2013 and June 2021, with linkages to Hospital Episodes Statistics Admitted Patient Care (HES APC), Accident and Emergency (HES AE) data and Diagnostic Imaging Dataset (DID).</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>This study had two parts, (1) definition development via clinical expert consensus, and (2) comparative testing of definitions in a UK primary care cohort.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Definitions of AHT were developed based on combinations of traumatic brain injury, abuse and head computerised tomography codes present in UK health records. Our definitions for AHT presenting to general practice, hospital and ED identified higher incidence in our cohort than all ICD-10 based definitions identified in the literature.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Inclusion of injuries presenting to GP, ED or admitted to hospital, in our definitions is likely to produce a more accurate estimate of AHT in the population. Caution should be applied, however, regarding potential inclusion of false positives and missed cases due to non-presentation to healthcare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107680"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145117515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Collaboration between nurse home visitors and child welfare predicts participant attrition in home visiting programs","authors":"Venice Ng Williams ,&nbsp;Michael D. Knudtson ,&nbsp;Gregory J. Tung","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107686","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107686","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Evidence-based home visiting programs like Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) improve the health of families experiencing social and economic adversities. Cross-sector collaboration is thought to influence the ability of these programs to improve maternal-child health and prevent child maltreatment.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>To assess the association between NFP and Child Protective Services (CPS) collaboration and participant attrition in NFP.</div></div><div><h3>Participants and setting</h3><div>We included NFP participants (<em>n</em> = 95,397) in the United States with their first visit between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2021.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We used Cox Proportional Hazards models to estimate adjusted hazard (dropout) ratios associated with NFP-CPS collaboration. We operationalized collaboration as two domains: relational coordination measured by the 7-item Relational Coordination Scale and structural integration measured by 4 adapted items from the Interagency Collaboration Activities Scale on shared resources.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>We found no statistically significant association between participant attrition and relational coordination, while structural integration was negatively associated with attrition (HR:0.986 [0.981–0.992]. Among NFP families referred to CPS by their NFP nurse (<em>n</em> = 2968), integration was also negatively associated with attrition (HR:0.955 [0.921–0.992]). In stratified models, integration was negatively associated with attrition for participants receiving NFP through government agencies (HR:0.969 [0.962–0.0.976]) and health care entities (HR:0.980, [0.965–0.995]), but not for community-based organizations. Coordination was positively associated with attrition for participants receiving NFP out of health care entities (HR:1.067 [1.029–1.111]).</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Our results highlight associations between provider collaboration and participant attrition in NFP. What structures should be enacted to facilitate collaboration for families with multiple adversities needs continued research and innovation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107686"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145117514","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Family context and caregiver characteristics in substantiated child maltreatment: A report-level analysis","authors":"Eunhye Ahn ,&nbsp;Joyce Y. Lee ,&nbsp;Lindsey Palmer ,&nbsp;Rebecca Rebbe ,&nbsp;Yadira Tejeda ,&nbsp;Hunmin Cha","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107693","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107693","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Child maltreatment is a major public health concern often affecting multiple children in the same household, shaped by shared family dynamics. Yet research has primarily focused on individual children, overlooking patterns of maltreatment across siblings in a shared family context.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study examined household and perpetrator characteristics associated with substantiated child maltreatment using a family-level approach that analyzed all children within Child Protective Services (CPS) reports.</div></div><div><h3>Participants and setting</h3><div>The study analyzed 440,754 substantiated or indicated CPS reports from 21 U.S. states during fiscal years 2018 and 2019.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Using the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), we categorized reports into four mutually exclusive groups based on the types of substantiated maltreatment across all children: neglect only, neglect with other, abuse only, and abuse with other (excluding neglect). Descriptive analyses compared these groups by family characteristics, perpetrator attributes, and the intersection of family size and perpetration pattern.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>More than half of reports (51.3 %) involved multiple children with mixed substantiation outcomes. Neglect only cases (58.5 %), predominantly involved very young children, female perpetrators with caregiving roles, and prior perpetration history. Abuse only cases (14.0 %) typically involved older children, sole perpetrators, and males in non-caregiver roles. Reports with multiple maltreatment types reflected complex family dynamics with multiple perpetrators.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Maltreatment often involves multiple children in a household, with patterns shaped by complex family dynamics, highlighting the need for tailored, family-centered interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107693"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145117513","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recognizing female-perpetrated sexual abuse: A vignette-based study on professional judgments","authors":"Seda Akdemir-Ekizoğlu ,&nbsp;Zeynep Belma Gölge","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107692","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107692","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Female-perpetrated child sexual abuse (FCSA) remains under recognized, particularly in ambiguous cases involving caregiving contexts. Despite growing awareness, professionals may struggle to identify FCSA due to traditional gender roles.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study examined how victim characteristics (age, gender), perpetrator type (mother, teacher, sex worker), and respondent background (gender and profession) influence professionals' recognition of FCSA and its harm.</div></div><div><h3>Participants and setting</h3><div>The sample included 502 professionals (59 % female, 20–65 years) from nine professions (psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, police officers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, forensic specialists, and psychological counselors) in Turkey. Participants were grouped into three professional categories: mental health professionals/social workers, health professionals, and justice professionals.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Respondents evaluated 10 brief vignettes depicting FCSA cases varying by victim gender, victim age, and perpetrator type. For each vignette, the respondents indicated whether they considered the case to be sexual abuse and rated the perceived harm to the victim. Data were analyzed using chi-square tests, <em>t</em>-tests, and ANOVAs.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Ambiguous cases, particularly maternal abuse, were less likely to be identified as abuse. Female and mental health/social work professionals showed higher sensitivity to FCSA and attributed greater harm. In contrast, justice professionals were the least likely to recognize abuse or its harm on the victim. Notably, sexual intercourse with a female sex worker was perceived as less harmful than with a teacher. Victim gender and age also significantly influenced abuse recognition and perceived harm.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Professionals' perceptions of FCSA are frequently shaped by sociocultural norms and legal framing. The results highlighting the need for specialized training and public awareness to improve detection of underreported abuse types.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107692"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145104398","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Who gets to decide when children participate? Considering the complexities of consent and gatekeeping in violence research","authors":"Franziska Meinck ,&nbsp;Hannabeth Franchino-Olsen ,&nbsp;Gertrud Sofie Hafstad ,&nbsp;Andreas Jud ,&nbsp;Christoph Liel ,&nbsp;George Nikolaidis ,&nbsp;Troels Græsholt-Knudsen","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107679","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107679","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Research assessing children's experiences of violence with child participants is essential to understand the burden of violence against children, to identify children most at risk and, consequently, enhance prevention. Yet many ethical review boards hesitate to allow violence research with children, and most will require active parental consent for child participation. However, this gatekeeping often results in refusal of parental consent and in children's voices remaining unheard, which is particularly risky in violence research where parents are most commonly inflicting specific types of violence or protecting perpetrators. When to demand parental consent should be carefully informed by scientific evidence, legal requirements and ethical principles. We provide (1) an overview of issues surrounding parental consent including child capacity and present a new analysis of country data with differing consent types and their implications on participation, disclosure and non-response, (2) summarise ethical issues in relation to consent, and (3) discuss opportunities for consent regulations in violence against children research. Our analysis demonstrates that type of consent affects rates of participation and violence disclosure and that fully-informed consent is more than a one-time agreement to participate. Considering the ethical and legal obligation of ensuring children's safety in violence research, and children's ability to understand the consequences of participation, children aged 13 years and older should be able to make informed decisions about participation independent of their legal caregivers providing necessary ethical and safeguarding requirements are met; alternatively, passive parental consent should be considered.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107679"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145104399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Treatments for child neglect: A scoping review","authors":"Brenda Erens,&nbsp;Sandy Wijnen,&nbsp;Ellin Simon","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107685","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107685","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Unlike more active forms of abuse, child neglect involves the omission of care. It is one of the most prevalent forms of child maltreatment, yet there is no consensus on its definition. Because of its high prevalence and severe consequences, there is a need for evidence-based interventions.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Despite this urgency, an up-to-date synthesis of research on the effectiveness of treatments for children who experienced neglect is lacking.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>This scoping review mapped the scope, nature, and characteristics of studies on the treatment of children who experienced neglect published in the past decade, by using methodology for scoping reviews by <span><span>Arksey and O'Malley (2005)</span></span>.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 31 studies met the inclusion criteria. We extracted information on publication year, study design, participant characteristics, type of maltreatment, measurement instruments, and treatment characteristics. Most studies employed experimental designs and originated from Western countries. Ethnic minority representation was generally low. The majority of studies included populations where neglect co-occurred with other forms of maltreatment. Among the interventions studied, the SafeCare Program and Multisystemic Therapy (MST-CAN) were most common. Treatments typically targeted families or parents, focusing on skills training and relationship enhancement.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Research into the effectiveness of treatments for neglected children remains scarce and displays many gaps. There is a limited range of interventions for children who experienced neglect, with limited trauma and child focused interventions available. Furthermore, gaps are prominent in external validity and generalizability, including underrepresentation of ethnic minority populations. Future studies should incorporate culturally sensitive recruitment practices for increasing ethnic minority groups and are encouraged to apply intensive, multicomponent interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107685"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145103166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The socioeconomic outcomes of sexual minority youth who have aged-out of foster care in California","authors":"Svetlana Shpiegel ,&nbsp;Wendy Zeitlin ,&nbsp;Rachel Ludeke ,&nbsp;Nathanael Okpych","doi":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107684","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107684","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Little is known about the adjustment of sexual minority youth as they “age-out” of foster care and begin living independently. Existing data is particularly limited for young people after they turn age 21.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>The present study aims to address this gap by examining key socioeconomic outcomes of sexual minority youth and their heterosexual peers following their exit from the California foster care system.</div></div><div><h3>Participants and setting</h3><div>We used representative survey data from four waves of the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study (CalYOUTH), which followed young people at ages 17, 19, 21, and 23.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Bivariate statistics and logistic regression analyses were used to examine youths' educational, vocational, financial, and housing outcomes at age 23, controlling for a range of covariates that can explain the differences attributed to sexual orientation.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Of those youth who provided information on their sexual orientation (<em>n</em> = 541), about half identified as sexual minority at least once, while the rest consistently identified as heterosexual across all four waves. Bivariate analyses revealed that sexual minority youth had lower rates of current employment, and higher rates of public food assistance, economic hardship, and homelessness at age 23. In multivariate analyses, the higher risk of homelessness (OR = 2.40, <em>p</em> = .01) and economic hardship (OR = 3.25, <em>p</em> &lt; .001) among sexual minority youth remained significant after controlling for child welfare factors, demographics, and other covariates.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Sexual minority youth may experience increased socioeconomic disadvantage as they transition from foster care to independent adulthood. Implications and directions for future research will be discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":51343,"journal":{"name":"Child Abuse & Neglect","volume":"169 ","pages":"Article 107684"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145103198","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}