ABSTRACT
Despite considerable declines in physical and sexual
abuse over recent decades, child maltreatment remains a public health priority.
In 2014, 702,000 children were determined to be victims of maltreatment, 75% of
whom experienced neglect (DHHS, 2016). An area in need of further scrutiny is
the complex relationship of multiple risk factors and the association of those
risk factors with subsequent child welfare involvement. The purpose of this study
was to examine evidence-based child maltreatment prevention through an empiric
examination of risk and prevention efforts and opportunities.
The paper concludes with recommendations for
evidence-based practices to improve the outcomes of children and families.
Among several recommendations, this paper suggests considering innovative
implementation settings, collaboration between systems, and response to the
underlying risk factors for maltreatment.
An Examination of Risk Profiles among Mothers
Involved with Child Protective Services, responds to the need to better
understand underlying risk factors among child welfare involved families as
discussed in the first paper. A latent class analysis was conducted to explore
the heterogeneity among women reported to child protective services. In what is
typically a homogenously treated and characterized sample, this analysis
indicated three classes of risk and examined the classes’ association with
subsequent referral to child protective services. The findings of this research
support the recommendation of the importance of better understanding underlying
risk factors to better align services with needs of children and families.
Evidence-based Programs Need to Evolve to Better
Protect Children, discusses the dissemination and implementation of
evidence-based prevention programs using SafeCare as an applied example. The
paper concludes with recommendations for evidence-based practices to improve the
outcomes of children and families. Among several recommendations, this paper
suggests considering innovative implementation settings, collaboration between
systems, and response to the underlying risk factors for maltreatment.
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It
has been the general assumption that children with reasonable physical care
would grow into normal happy adulthood. But scientific investigations of
psychologists, sociologist and psychiatrists regarding personality development
has uncovered the greater importance of the growing up and its lasting effects
on the total personality of a person. Adult personality has its root in
childhood. What we can do as adult is largely determined by ways in which we
were allowed into experience inevitable events of childhood.
A
child is neglected when he lacks continues physical and emotional contact with
his mother. Children under this category are those may be due to lose of mother
or both parents or the separation of both parents, thus child may be sent to
nursery school or orphanages with many children which makes it difficult for
special individual attention to be rendered to each child. Those children are
therefore brought up by stranger which could be changed at different times due
to the shift of their study.
Child
abuse on the other hand can be defined as the portion of harm to children that
result from human action or in action that is prescribed, proximate and
preventable. The definition recognizes that such harm is no accident but
something perpetrated on children by others, usually intestinally and that the
actors inflicting this harm do not enjoy society approval. It is also point out
that abuse generally come from the child immediate environment and that it is
preventable child neglect is a passive form of maltreatment or abuse UNICEF
(1986).
Improved
parenting is the most important goal of child abuse prevention. Parents
maltreat their children for many reasons and combinations of reasons. In the
past three decades, researchers have identified four common co-occurring
issues—parental substance abuse, parental mental illness, domestic violence,
and child conduct problems—that are related to parenting and that lead to child
maltreatment. Understanding and responding to these issues is fundamental to
designing effective parenting education programs that can help prevent abuse
and neglect (Barth, 2009).
One key decision facing those who design such programs is whether (and the
extent to which) a parenting program should directly address these related
problems or whether efforts to improve parenting should focus primarily or
solely on improving parenting skills, with the expectation that the negative
effects of these other problems on parenting may recede if parenting programs
are effective.
A fifth risk factor for child abuse is family poverty. Every national incidence
study of child abuses and neglect has shown that poor families are
disproportionately involved with child welfare services. Parenting education,
however, is not designed to reduce poverty, and that risk factor will not be
further discussed below. See the article in this volume by Fred Wulczyn for a
discussion of family poverty and child maltreatment (Barth, 2009).
Parenting
interventions can use a range of delivery mechanisms (e.g. group-based or
individual; home visiting; multicomponent interventions; media) and can be
offered in many different settings (e.g. primary health-care, hospitals, early
childhood centres, schools, homes, community centres). They may target specific
groups of parents (e.g. teenage parents or parents with substance abuse issues)
and have content that is tailored to the needs of particular populations.
Parenting interventions can also be classified as – universal, selective or
indicated – using a public health prevention framework. Universal programmes
are aimed at the general public and do not discriminate on the basis of risk.
Selective programmes on the other hand, are directed to at-risk groups (e.g.
families living in poverty; teen mothers). Finally, indicated programmes are
aimed at groups or individuals where there are already signs of problematic
behaviours and may include treatment. Evaluations of parenting programmes
suggest that they can positively impact risk factors such as parental attitudes
and relationships with partners, as well as help in the prevention of child
maltreatment (WHO, 2013). Despite this evidence, there are several issues that
currently make it difficult to be conclusive about the effectiveness of
parenting programmes in the prevention of VAC. For example, there is often no
consistent definition or measurement of child maltreatment across evaluations.
Some evaluations use objective measures of child maltreatment such as reports
from child protection services or number of injuries, while others use risk
factors as a proxy for child maltreatment like parental stress and attitudes
toward discipline. Systematic reviews of parenting evaluations have also
highlighted several methodological weaknesses in evaluations (Euser et al.,
2015) and overall, there are few randomised controlled trials on whether
interventions prevent maltreatment (WHO, 2013). Programmes also differ in terms
of target group, type of professional delivering the programme, number and
length of sessions/visits, outcome measures and follow-up period. As a result,
overall effects are often difficult to separate and quantify.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Child
abuse and neglect is a serious public health problem affecting 10.6 children
per 1,000 in the United States annually (U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, 2009). Emphasis is needed on what has been described as one of the
newest and most promising approaches to child maltreatment prevention–the promotion
of safe, stable, nurturing relationships (SSNRs) as the foundation for
supporting positive parenting practices (Hammond, 2008; Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention [CDC]. There are often immediate consequences from child
maltreatment, but research in neurobiological, behavioural and social sciences
indicates that these early childhood experiences also affect longer-term brain
development and increase vulnerability for multiple mental and physical health
problems (CDC, 2009; Felitti et al., 1998; Kendall- Tackett, 2003), further
emphasizing the need for prevention.
1.3
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The aim objective of this study is investigates the preventing of child abuse
and neglect with parent training: evidence and opportunities. The specific
objectives include the following:
1.
To examine the prevention of child abuse and neglect of parent training.
2.
To identify the challenges facing parent training and preventing child abuse.
3.
To determine the available evidence in law or policy preventing child
abuse.
4.
To make useful opportunity statements based on the findings of this study.
1.4
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The
following research questions were generated to guide this study:
i.
Are there any factors in prevention of child abuse and neglect of parent
training?
ii.
Are there challenges facing parent training and preventing child abuse?
iii.
Is there any evidence in practice of law or policy preventing child abuse?
iv. what are the discovered opportunities?
1.5
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Child abuse and child neglect are social problems that affects a significant
number of people about which something need to be done. This menace deters
technological advancement and waste a lot of wisdom and talents. This study
however, would help reduce the number of people affected through adequate
mobilization and campaign against this catastrophe. This study would also help
in legislating against the catastrophe. This study would provide a data bank
that serve as literature for further use by scholars.
It would also be of immense benefits to students of higher learning who may
wish to carry out research on the similar topic.
1.6
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study centred on preventing child abuse and neglect with parent training:
evidence and opportunities in Nigeria. Child maltreatment is a global problem
affecting both high income (HICs) and low and middle income countries (LMICs).
There is some evidence that parenting interventions can assist in the
prevention of child maltreatment, but most of this research has been conducted
in HICs. The main aim of this review was to examine the evidence from previous
systematic reviews on the role of parenting programmes in the prevention of
violence against children. The findings suggest that parenting programmes have
the potential to both prevent and reduce the risk of child maltreatment.
1.7
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
There is no study undertaken by a researcher that is perfect. The imperfection
of any research is always due to some factors negatively affecting a researcher
in the course of carrying out research. Therefore, time constraint has
shown no mercy to the research. The limited time has to be shared among many alternative
uses, which includes reading, attending lectures and writing of this research,
also distance and its attendant costs of travelling to obtain information which
may enhance the writing of this study was a major limitation.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Child abuse: is
when a parent or caregiver, whether through action or failing to act, causes
injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. There are many forms of child maltreatment, including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and emotional abuse.
Parenting: or
child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, and
intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the
intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biological
relationship.
Child neglect: is
a form of abuse, an egregious behaviour of caregivers (e.g., parents) that
results in a deprivation of child of their basic needs, including the failure
to provide adequate supervision, health care, clothing, or housing, as well as
other physical, emotional, social, educational, and safety needs. All societies
have established that there are necessary behaviours a caregiver must provide
in order for a child to develop physically, socially, and emotionally. Causes
of neglect may result from several parenting problems including mental
disorders, unplanned pregnancy, substance abuse, unemployment, overemployment,
domestic violence, and, in special cases, poverty.
1.9 Methods
For
the purpose of this study topic, this research will make use of quantitative
study; data will be sourced from secondary sources and data will be gathered
from peer-reviewed journal, conference proceedings, newspaper, working paper,
thesis and reputable online platforms.