Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114852

Cecilia Casanueva, Department of MCH, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, CB#7445, 401 Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445, 919-677-0754, casanuev@email.unc.edu, Sandra L. Martin, PhD, Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 425 Rosenau Hall, CB #7445, UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445, Desmond Runyan, Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina, CB #7240, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-724, and Richard Barth, PhD, Frank A. Daniels School of Social Work, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 301 Pittsboro Street, Campus Box 3550, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3550.

Almost all the studies about child abuse and neglect recurrence do not specify if the mother or the father was the alleged perpetrator. This study examines reports of maternal recurrence of child abuse. Data was from Waves I to III of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), a national probability study of families reported to Child Protective Services (CPS). The study sample was limited to mothers who were perpetrators of child maltreatment at baseline (N= 1258). Almost 20% of mothers were re-reported for child abuse. The most common type of recurrence was neglect, followed by physical abuse. About 43% of the mothers reported intimate partner violence (IPV). Children whose mothers were current victims of IPV were twice as likely to suffer recurrence of abuse as children of non-abused mothers (ad. O.R. 1.9, 95% C.I: 1.1-3.5). Maternal depression, alcohol abuse, history of abuse and neglect of the mother and low social support were also associated with a higher risk of maternal recurrence. Children ages 2 to 5 were more likely to suffer recurrence of abuse than children 11 and older. Survival analysis showed that mothers' victims of current IPV received a re-report 60% faster than mothers who were not victims of IPV. Given the limited number of mothers receiving domestic violence services through CPS (6%) these results highlight the urgent need to provide services to victims of intimate partner violence that would help prevent further abuse and strength the ability of mothers to support their children.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the occurrence and patterns of child abuse and neglect recurrence perpetrated by mothers.
• Recognize the importance of assessing intimate partner and the service’s needs of mothers who abuse their children.
• Identify maternal, child and sociodemographic characteristics associated with maternal recurrence.

Keywords: Domestic Violence,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation