2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

332689
Impact of Parental Mental Health Symptomology on Parenting Practices among Parents at Risk of Child Maltreatment: A Tale of Mothers and Fathers


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Ashwini Tiwari, MS, MPH, School of Public Health- National SafeCare Training and Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Melissa Osborne, MPH, School of Public Health-National SafeCare Training and Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Matt Jackson, MPH, GRA, Doctoral Student, School of Public Health, National Safecare Training & Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Tia Mcgill, MPH, School of Public Health-National SafeCare Training and Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Evander Baker, MPH, National SafeCare Training and Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
John Lutzker, Ph.D., Center for Healthy Development; Institute of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Shannon Self-Brown, PhD, National SafeCare Training and Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
Background: Child maltreatment (CM) is a widespread public health problem resulting in short and long-term adverse health outcomes, loss of productivity, and fiscal losses in victim-care. Parent mental health symptomology is a known risk factor for CM perpetration. However, the vast majority of research is limited to maternal caregivers.  Inclusion of male caregivers in research is critical to understand similarities and differences in risk factors for CM and associated implications for parenting practices and CM prevention programs.

Methods/Approach: This presentation will explore effects of mental health symptomology on parenting outcomes among both mothers (n=49) and fathers (n=39) of different family units, using baseline data from randomized controlled trials testing the efficacy of SafeCare®, an evidence-based parenting program for families at risk of CM. Specifically, results from bivariate and multivariate analyses will highlight the significant roles of depression and anxiety in predicting four parenting outcomes: non-violent discipline, minor physical assault, psychological aggression, and neglect.

Findings: While bivariate correlations indicated a high correlation between anxiety and depressive symptomology (r=.77, p<.001), a significantly higher mean of depressive symptomology was reported among mothers (p=.037) than fathers.  Regression analyses suggest important associations, including that mothers and fathers reporting greater anxiety symptomology were significantly more likely to report higher frequency of neglect (p<.001), psychological aggression (p<.001) and minor physical assault (p<.001) in the past year.  

Implications: These findings warrant examination of current approaches to mental health and CM prevention practices, given decreasing public health budgets. Important policy implications at programmatic and legislative levels will be discussed.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the effects of known risk factors for child abuse and neglect on four parenting practices Compare differences and similarities in mental health symptomology and other risk factors between mothers and fathers at risk of child abuse and neglect Discuss the implications of these research findings for evidence-based parenting programs, and policy at the programmatic and legislative levels

Keyword(s): Mental Health, Child Abuse

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have worked as the RCT project coordinator and am familiar with the data. In addition, I conducted the analyses included in this presentation. I have also worked as a Doctoral Candidate and graduate research assistant in the National SafeCare Training and Research Center for the last 3 years. My research interests include child abuse and neglect, and parent mental health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 5019.0: Poster #7 // Psychiatric Epidemiology