Child physical abuse and economic hardship are two of the most pervasive social problems addressed by the social work profession. Despite empirical evidence that child physical abuse is associated with economic disparities, the field of child welfare lacks a national, coordinated agenda for economic hardship prevention. We review social scientific studies that demonstrate the links between child abuse and a range of economic stressors, including poverty, unemployment, and material hardships. Implications for research, practice, and policy are presented, which could enhance the financial well-being of low-income families at risk of child physical abuse.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AliA., HawkinsR., & ChambersD. (2010). Recovery from depression among clients transitioning out of poverty.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(1), 26–33.
2.
AndrewsC., BessR., JantzA., & RussellV. (2002). Collaboration between state welfare and child welfare agencies (Series A, # A-54). Washington, DC: Urban Institute.
3.
BairdS., McIntoshC., & OzlerB. (2010). Cash or condition? Evidence from a cash transfer experiment. (World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series. Number 5259). Retrieved from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1585038##.
4.
BergerL. M. (2004). Income, family structure, and child maltreatment risk.Children and Youth Services Review, 26(8), 725–748.
5.
BergerL. M. (2007). Socioeconomic factors and substandard parenting.Social Service Review, 81(3), 485–522.
6.
BergerL. M., & WaldfogelJ. (2011). Economic determinants and consequences of child maltreatment. (OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 111). Paris, France: OECD Publishing.
7.
BeverlyS. G. (2001). Measures of material hardship: Rationale and recommendations.Journal of Poverty, 5(1), 23–41.
8.
BirkenmaeirJ., SherradenM., & CurleyJ. (Eds.). (2013). Financial capability and asset building: Research, education, policy, and practice.New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
9.
BoyerB., & HalbrookA (2011). Advocating for children in care in a climate of economic recession: The relationship between poverty and child maltreatment.Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy, 6(2), 300–317.
10.
CancianM., YangM. Y., & SlackK. S. (2013). The effect of additional child support income on the risk of child maltreatment.Social Service Review, 87(3), 417–437.
11.
Center for American Progress. (n.d.). Half in Ten: The campaign to cut poverty in half in ten years. Retrieved August 13, 2014 from http://www.halfinten.org.
12.
Children's Defense Fund. (2005). The state of America's children. Washington, DC: Author.
13.
CongerR. D., CongerK. J., ElderG. H.Jr.LorenzF. O., SimonsR. L., & WhitbeckL. B. (1992). A family process model of economic hardship and adjustment of early adolescent boys. Child Development, 63, 526–541.
14.
CoultonC. J., KorbinM. S., & ChowJ. (1995). Community level factors and child maltreatment rates. Child Development, 66, 1262–1276.
15.
CourtneyM. E., DworskyA., PiliavinI., & ZinnA. (2005). Involvement of TANF applicant families with child welfare services.Social Service Review, 79(1), 119–157.
16.
CramerR., & NewvilleD (2009). Children's savings accounts: The case for creating a lifelong saving's platform at birth as a foundation for a “save-and-invest” economy.Washington, DC: New America Foundation, Asset Building Program.
17.
DeccioG., HornerW. C., & WilsonD. (1994). High-risk neighborhoods and high-risk families: Replication research related to the human ecology of child maltreatment. Journal of Social Services Research, 18, 123–137.
18.
DonnelanM., CongerK., McAdamsK., & NepplT. (2009). Personal characteristics and resilience to economic hardship and its consequences: Conceptual issues and empirical illustrations.Journal of Personality, 77, 1645–1675.
19.
DrakeB., & PandeyS (1996). Understanding the relationship between neighborhood poverty and specific types of child maltreatment.Child Abuse & Neglect, 20(11), 1003–1018.
20.
DuncanG. J., & Brooks-GunnJ. (Eds). (1997). Consequences of growing up poor.New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
21.
DuncanG. J., Brooks-GunnJ., & KlebanovP. K. (1994). Economic deprivation and early childhood development.Child Development, 65(2), 296–318.
22.
DuvaJ., & MetzgerS (2010). Addressing poverty as a major risk factor in child neglect: Promising policy and practice.Protecting Children, 25(1), 63–74.
23.
DworskyA., CourtneyM. E., & ZinnA. (2007). Child, parent, and family predictors of child welfare services involvement among TANF applicant families.Children and Youth Services Review, 29, 802–820.
24.
EpsteinM. R. (2001). Predicting abuse and neglect in the first two years of life from risk assessments during the prenatal and perinatal period. (Published doctoral dissertation). University of California, Davis, CA.
25.
ErnstJ. S. (2000). Mapping child maltreatment: Looking at neighborhoods in a suburban county. Child Welfare, 79, 555–572.
26.
ErnstJ. S. (2001). Community-level factors and child maltreatment in a suburban county. Social Work Research, 25(3), 133–142.
27.
FeinD. J., & LeeW. S. (2003). The impacts of welfare reform on child maltreatment in Delaware. Children and Youth Services Review, 25(1-2), 83–111.
28.
FreisthlerB., GruenewaldP. J., RingL., & LaScalaE. A. (2008). An ecological assessment of the population and environmental correlates of childhood accidents, assault, and child abuse injuries. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 32(11), 1969.
29.
GarbarinoJ., & CrouterA (1978). Defining the community context for parent-child relations: The correlates of child maltreatment. Child Development, 49, 604–616.
30.
GarbarinoJ., & KostelnyK (1992). Child maltreatment as a community problem. Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 455–464.
31.
GarbarinoJ., & ShermanD (1980). High-risk neighborhoods and high-risk families: The human ecology of child maltreatment. Child Development, 51, 188–198.
32.
GillhamB., TannerG., CheyneB., FreemanI., RooneyM., & LambieA. (1998). Unemployment rates, single parent density, and indices of child poverty: Their relationship to different categories of child abuse and neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect, 22, 79–90.
33.
McDanielM., & SlackK (2005). Major life events and the risk of a child maltreatment investigation.Children and Youth Services Review, 27(2), 171–195.
34.
McLoydV. C. (1998). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development.American Psychologist, 53(2), 185–204.
35.
MertonR. K. (Ed.). (1968). Social theory and social structure.New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Inc.
36.
MillsC. W. (2000). The sociological imagination.New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
37.
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers.Washington, DC: Author.
38.
NelsonG. (2011). Measuring poverty: The official U. S. measure and material hardship.Poverty & Public Policy, 3(3), 1–35.
OvwighoP. C., LeavittK., & BornC. E. (2003). Risk factors for child abuse and neglect among former TANF families: Do later leavers experience greater risk?Children and Youth Services Review, 25(1), 139–63.
41.
PaxsonC., BergerL. M., & WaldfogelJ. (2002). Family income, parental characteristics, and child maltreatment: A preliminary report. (Unpublished manuscript). Princeton University, Princeton, NJ.
42.
PaxsonC., & WaldfogelJ (1999). Parental resources and child abuse and neglect.The American Economic Review, 89(2), 239–244.
43.
PaxsonC., & WaldfogelJ (2002). Work, welfare and child maltreatment. Journal of Labor Economics, 20(3), 435–474.
44.
PaxsonC., & WaldfogelJ (2003). Welfare reforms, family resources, and child maltreatment.Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 22(1), 85–113.
45.
Reed-AshcraftK. B., KirkR. S., & FraserM. W. (2001). The reliability and validity of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale.Research on Social Work Practice, 11(4), 503–520.
46.
SchramS. (2006). Welfare discipline: Discourse, governance, and globalization.Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
47.
ShookK. (1999). Does the loss of welfare income increase the risk of involvement with the child welfare system?Children and Youth Services Review, 21(9), 781–814.
48.
ShookK., & TestaM (1997). Cost-savings evaluation of the Normal Program: Final report to the Department of Children and Family Services.Chicago, IL: Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
49.
SidebothamP., HeronJ., GoldingJ., & TeamA. S. (2002). Child maltreatment in the children of the nineties: Deprivation, class, and social networks in a UK sample. Child Abuse & Neglect, 26(12), 1243–1259.
50.
SlackK. S., HollJ. L., LeeB. J., McDanielM., AltenberndL., & StevensA. B. (2003). Child protective intervention in the context of welfare reform: The effects of work and welfare on maltreatment reports.Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 22(4), 517–536.
51.
SlackK. S., HollJ. L., McDanielM., YooJ., & BolgerK. (2004). Understanding the risks of child neglect: An exploration of poverty and parenting characteristics.Child Maltreatment, 9(4), 395–408.
52.
SlackK. S., LeeB. J., & BergerL. M. (2007). Do welfare sanctions increase child protection system involvement? A cautious answer.Social Service Review, 81(2), 207–228.
53.
StithS. M., LiuT., DaviesL. C., BoykinE. L., AlderM. C., HarrisJ. M., … DeesJ. E. M. E. G. (2009). Risk factors in child maltreatment: A meta-analytic review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 13–29.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). Healthy people 2020 framework. Washington, DC: Author.
57.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2013). Synthesis: Collaboration between TANF and child welfare to improve child welfare outcomes. Washington, DC: Author.
58.
Votruba-DrzalE. (2003). Income changes and cognitive stimulation in young children's home learning environments.Journal of Marriage and Family, 65(2), 341–355.
59.
WoodJ. N., MedinaS. P., FeudtnerC., LuanX., LocalioR., FieldstonE. S., & RubinD. M. (2012). Local macroeconomic trends and hospital admissions for child abuse, 2000-2009. Pediatrics, 130(2), e358-364.
60.
YangM. Y. (2012). The effect of material hardship on child protective service involvement. (Published doctoral dissertation). University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.
61.
YoungG., & GatelyT (1988). Neighborhood impoverishment and child maltreatment. Journal of Family Issues, 9, 240–254.
