Determining risk for child physical harm through the classification of economic insecurity

Children in economically insecure families are more likely to experience physical harm compared with children in economically secure families. It is unclear, however, if particular combinations of economic insecurity are more or less predictive of child physical harm. This study aimed to 1) identify...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Children and youth services review 2017-07, Vol.78, p.161-169
Main Authors: Conrad-Hiebner, Aislinn, Paschall, Katherine W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Children
Children & youth
Classification
Families & family life
Hardship
Housing
Income
Insecurity
Latent class analysis
Low income groups
Medicine
Mothers
Predictions
Risk
Security
Well being
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Summary:Children in economically insecure families are more likely to experience physical harm compared with children in economically secure families. It is unclear, however, if particular combinations of economic insecurity are more or less predictive of child physical harm. This study aimed to 1) identify and describe the prevalence of distinct combinations, or classes, of economic insecurity (public and private income transfers, bill-paying, housing, food, and medical hardships), 2) and to associate these classes with child physical harm (spanking, hitting, slapping, shaking, pinching). We employed latent class analysis with age 5 data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study (N=4133), finding that four latent classes of economic insecurity differentially predict the prevalence and chronicity of physical harm behaviors. Mothers who reported hardship perpetrated more child physical harm than mothers who received income transfers but reported no hardship. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed. •Our analysis demonstrates four classes of economic insecurity (material hardship, income transfers) ranging from low to high economic security.•>50% of all mothers perpetrated child physical harm, including kicking, spanking, hitting, and slapping behaviors.•Mothers with the lowest economic security experienced an increased likelihood for perpetrating child physical harm.•Mothers with a bill-paying or food hardship perpetrated more child physical harm than mothers without a hardship.
ISSN:0190-7409
1873-7765
DOI:10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.05.016