Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention

How Can We Prevent Abuse and Neglect?

Research shows that the best way to prevent child abuse is to educate, inform, support, and work with parents to help them build strong, healthy families.

“Neighborhood or community-based family support programs are among the most effective ways to reduce child abuse and neglect.” Idaho Kids Count, 2003

The majority of ICTF funding dollars are allocated to programs that provide various services that strengthen and support parents and families.

What Causes Child Abuse and Neglect?

Child abuse and neglect are complex and multidimensional problems. Experts agree that they occur as a result of multiple risk factors that interact and reinforce each other. The existence of any risk factor in a child's life does not guarantee abuse of the child, just that the potential for abuse is greater. Child abuse and neglect risk factors can be grouped into categories:

Child Abuse Risk Factors

Characteristics of the Child
(This is not to suggest that the child is responsible for his own abuse. Children with the following characteristics may be more challenging to care for, resulting in stress and frustration for parents or caregivers who lack education or support for parenting.)

• Child was born premature, with birth anomalies, at a low birth weight, or exposed to toxins in utero
• Child has a difficult or slow-to-warm-up temperament
• Child has a physical, cognitive or emotional disability
• Child has a chronic or serious illness,
• Child is less than 5 years old (children under 4 years of age account for over 75% of child abuse and neglect deaths)
• Childhood trauma
• Child is aggressive, has behavior problems or attention deficits

Characteristics of the Parents/Family

• Parent had insecure attachment with own parents
• Parent was abused as a child and received no intervention
• Lack of parenting knowledge
• Parent has unrealistic expectations about child development
• Family is socially or geographically isolated or lacks support
• Parent has a mental illness or disorder
• Parent has substance abuse issues
• Marital conflict
• Domestic violence
• Teen parenthood
• Parents have a generally high stress level
• Family has a heavy childcare responsibility due to several preschool aged children
• Parent has any of the following personality factors:

  external locus of control
  poor impulse control
  low tolerance for frustration
  feelings of insecurity
  lack of trust
  unmet emotional needs

  Characteristics of the Environment

  Low socioeconomic status

  • Stressful life events
    • Lack of access to:

      medical care
      health insurance
      adequate child care
      social services
      emotional support

  • Parental unemployment
  • Homelessness
  • Exposure to racism or discrimination
  • Poor schools
  • Exposure to environmental toxins
  • Dangerous or violent neighborhood
  • Community violence

  This is not an all-inclusive or exhaustive list. The existence of these factors in a child's life does not mean the child will suffer from abuse, just that the potential for abuse or neglect is greater than if these factors did not exist in the child's life.

Three levels of child abuse prevention efforts

Providing treatment to abusive and neglectful families alone cannot break the cycle of child abuse and neglect. Communities must develop strategies to prevent abusive and neglectful patterns from occurring to begin with. Prevention programs have the potential to provide a more complete and effective support system for at risk families.

Primary prevention takes measures to keep abuse and neglect from occurring for the first time in a family. It raises the awareness of the general public, service providers and policy makers about the scope and problems associated with child maltreatment through activities such as public awareness campaigns or general educational efforts. Research literature strongly suggests that primary prevention is by far the least expensive and most effective means of solving a wide range on social problems, including child abuse and neglect. It is proactive, providing help before crisis begins. Primary prevention efforts build on family strengths; they don't concentrate on family deficits.
Examples of primary prevention activities include:

• Public Service announcements encouraging parents to use nonviolent forms of discipline.
• Parent education programs open to the general public that teach parents age-appropriate expectations for their children.
• Public education for adults to recognize the grooming and manipulation tactics of child sexual offenders.
  

Secondary prevention also refers to keeping abuse and neglect from occurring for the first time in a family. The difference from primary prevention is that secondary prevention programs are directed at populations of families who have been determined to be at-risk for abusive or neglectful behavior, or have circumstances in their life that present challenges to positive parenting behaviors and optimal child development. Secondary prevention activities may include:

• Parent education programs for teen parents.
• Respite care for families who have children with special needs.
• Family Resource Centers offering information and referral services to families in low-income neighborhoods.

Tertiary prevention activities occur in families in which abuse or neglect has already occurred, with the goal of preventing further maltreatment and breaking the family cycle of abuse. An example might be:

• Parent mentor programs with stable, non-abusive families acting as role models and providing support to families in crisis.