title: Environmental and individual attributes associated with child maltreatment resulting in hospitalization or death.
abstract: Maltreatment continues to be a leading cause of death for young children. Researchers are beginning to uncover which neighborhood attributes may be associated with maltreatment outcomes. However, few studies have been able to explore these influences while controlling for individual family attributes, and none have been able to parse out the most severe outcomes-injuries resulting in hospitalization or death. This study utilizes a retrospective, case-control design on a dataset containing both individual and environmental level attributes of children who have been hospitalized or died due to maltreatment to explore the relative influence of attributes inside and outside the household walls. Binary conditional logistic regression was used to model the outcome as a function of the individual and environmental level predictors. Separate analyses also separated the outcome by manner of maltreatment: abuse or neglect. Finally, a sub-analysis included protective predictors representing access to supportive resources. Findings indicate that neighborhood attributes were similar for both cases and controls, except in the neglect only model, wherein impoverishment was associated with higher odds of serious maltreatment. Dense housing increased risk in all models except the neglect only model. In a sub-analysis, distance to Family Resource Centers was inversely related to serious maltreatment. In all models, variables representing more extreme intervention and/or removal of the victim and/or perpetrator from the home (foster care or criminal court involvement) were negatively associated with the risk of becoming a case. Medi-Cal insurance eligibility of a child was also negatively associated with becoming a case. Government interventions may be playing a critical role in child protection. More research is needed to ascertain how these interventions assert their influence.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, 4610 X Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, United States. Electronic address: holly.thurston@csus.edu.
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thurston
authors.affiliation: Ohio State University, College of Social Work, 1947 College Road, Columbus, OH 43210, United States. Electronic address: Freisthler.19@osu.edu.
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Freisthler
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, 4610 X Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, United States. Electronic address: jfbell@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Janice
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, UC Davis Medical Center, 2516 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA, 95817, United States. Electronic address: djtancredi@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tancredi
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, UC Davis Medical Center, 4150 V Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, United States. Electronic address: psromano@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Patrick S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Romano
authors.affiliation: Penn State University, College of Nursing, 201 Nursing Sciences Building, University Park, PA, 16802, United States. Electronic address: Sjm6101@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Sheridan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.affiliation: University of California, Davis, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, 4610 X Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, United States. Electronic address: jgjoseph@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Jill G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Joseph
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Child maltreatment death; Conditional logistic regression; Environmental; GIS; Housing density