Growing Up Unequal: Family Complexity, Child Maltreatment and Child Well-Being

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Pediatric Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 January 2025 | Viewed by 3449

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Social Work, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton St Hamilton College, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Interests: child maltreatment; foster care; kinship care; grandparents raising grandchildren

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Social Work, Sapir Academic College, Sderot 7956000, Israel
Interests: child abuse and neglect; CPS; decision making; foster care; out-of-home care

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Families change constantly and contemporary family structures are more complex and diverse than those from a decade or even longer ago in any country. Family complexity refers to a variety of family structures (e.g., shared-custody families, same-sex families, families with nonresidential and co-residential partnerships, grandparent-headed families) and sibling compositions (e.g., half or stepsiblings). With rapid changes occurring in family structures globally, there is a pressing need for additional research to examine child maltreatment and/or child well-being within these complex structures. Developing a more in-depth knowledge base of child maltreatment and child well-being in diverse family structures would empower us to better integrate family complexity into the improvement of child well-being through services and policies. We invite you to submit manuscripts that address family complexity and child maltreatment/child well-being that also address the implications for practices and policies. We enthusiastically invite a variety of research from different countries and diverse populations, and welcome submissions employing various research methodologies, including qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, and systematic/scoping reviews. By encompassing diverse approaches, we seek to gather a comprehensive array of perspectives on this important topic.

Dr. Yanfeng Xu
Dr. Merav Jedwab
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • child maltreatment/child well-being in different types of complex family structures, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities
  • family dynamics/relationships and child maltreatment/child well-being in different types of complex family structures
  • interventions/policies to reduce child maltreatment in different types of complex family structures
  • interventions/policies to improve child well-being in different types of complex family structures
  • disparities in child maltreatment/child well-being among different types of complex family structures

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 447 KiB  
Article
Mothers’ Adverse Childhood Experiences Moderate the Association between Maternal Anger and Children’s Externalizing Symptoms
by Tiago Castro, Rita Pasion, Carla Antunes, Francisca Alves, Inês Jongenelen and Diogo Lamela
Children 2024, 11(8), 1002; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11081002 - 16 Aug 2024
Viewed by 329
Abstract
Background/objectives: This study examined the association between maternal anger, children’s externalizing symptoms, and the moderating impact of maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV). The primary objective was to investigate whether maternal ACEs alter the link between [...] Read more.
Background/objectives: This study examined the association between maternal anger, children’s externalizing symptoms, and the moderating impact of maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV). The primary objective was to investigate whether maternal ACEs alter the link between maternal anger and children’s externalizing symptoms, guided by theoretical frameworks such as the stress sensitization and stress steeling models. Methods: A sample of 159 Portuguese mothers exposed to IPV participated in the study, completing a protocol of self-report measures. Measured variables included maternal anger, ACEs, children’s externalizing symptoms, and IPV. Results: Results indicate a significant moderation effect of ACEs on the association between maternal anger and externalizing symptoms at low levels of ACEs. Conversely, at moderate and high ACEs levels, no statistically significant association exists between maternal anger and children’s externalizing symptoms. Conclusions: Clinical implications emphasize the importance of tailored parenting interventions to prevent externalizing symptoms in children, integrating diverse emotion regulation strategies while considering the impact of maternal ACEs. Full article
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17 pages, 760 KiB  
Article
Unveiling Child Sexual Abuse Disclosure in China: An Ecological Exploration of Survivors’ Experiences
by Tian Tian, Ilan Katz and Xiaoyuan Shang
Children 2024, 11(6), 688; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11060688 - 4 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 835
Abstract
Through a thematic analysis of firsthand posts from 258 abuse survivors in online forums from 2016 to 2023, this research examines the barriers that Chinese children encounter when disclosing sexual abuse. The anonymous narratives shed light on the motives behind survivors’ reluctance to [...] Read more.
Through a thematic analysis of firsthand posts from 258 abuse survivors in online forums from 2016 to 2023, this research examines the barriers that Chinese children encounter when disclosing sexual abuse. The anonymous narratives shed light on the motives behind survivors’ reluctance to reveal abuse, the outcomes following disclosure, and the wider implications for survivors and their families under culture. The findings underscore the need for early intervention upon disclosure, aiming to safeguard children from further harm and foster the development of an effective child protection framework. Full article
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13 pages, 515 KiB  
Article
Exploring Gender Moderation: The Impact of Neighborhood Factors on Adolescent Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms
by Fei Pei
Children 2024, 11(4), 389; https://doi.org/10.3390/children11040389 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 831
Abstract
Limited previous studies investigated the influences of various types of neighborhood factors on adolescent behavior problems. Meanwhile, although previous theoretical frameworks suggested that gender played a significant role in terms of neighborhood impacts on adolescent behavioral problems, few studies investigated the gender differences [...] Read more.
Limited previous studies investigated the influences of various types of neighborhood factors on adolescent behavior problems. Meanwhile, although previous theoretical frameworks suggested that gender played a significant role in terms of neighborhood impacts on adolescent behavioral problems, few studies investigated the gender differences in such neighborhood influences. Using the year 9 and year 15 data of the national dataset Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS, overly sampled participants from low-income families), this study examined how the neighborhood structural and process factors can affect adolescent behavioral problems (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) and whether gender worked as a significant moderator for such relationships in the U.S. Structural equation models and multigroup SEM were estimated (N = 3411). Findings suggested that residential instability was associated with increased levels of internalizing symptoms among adolescents at age 15, whereas neighborhood social cohesion was linked to reduced levels of externalizing symptoms throughout adolescence. Furthermore, the moderating effects of gender were found for the association between residential instability and internalizing symptoms. Implications of such findings are further discussed. Full article
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