Safe supportive and nurturing environments for infants and toddlers in North Carolina

Promoting safe, stable, and nurturing relationships has become the prime objective of many child abuse prevention programs. Defining and measuring child physical and sexual abuse is easier, in some ways, than this more global framework for healthy families. Neglect and psychological violence are important components of this construct as are positive acts of parenting (e.g. reading and showing affection). We surveyed 2946 mothers of children less than 2 years of age in North Carolina with an anonymous population-based telephone survey (response rate 54%) to understand parenting of young children. Using the Parent Child Conflict Tactics Scale and the Mother Child Neglect Scale, we asked how young children are disciplined, supervised, and reared. Minor psychological violence (shouting, yelling and screaming by 29.7% of mothers) is common. More severe forms of psychological violence are uncommon (2.9% of mothers cursed or swore at child; 2.9% of mothers refused to speak to child). In the last year 3.5% of mothers revealed not being able to provide enough food for their child. Injury due to inadequate supervision was common (20% last year), but leaving young children home alone in the last year was rare (0.27%). Overall, we found moderate rates of early maternal employment of minor psychological violence but low rates of more severe psychological tactics and low but worrisome rates of neglect. Survey research is one important tool to measure the ways that program, practice, and policies promote safe, supportive, and nurturing relationships in the interest of violence prevention and optimal child development.