Caregiver instability and early life changes among infants reported to the child welfare system |
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| Authors: | Cecilia Casanueva Mary Dozier Stephen Tueller Melissa Dolan Keith Smith Mary Bruce Webb T’Pring Westbrook Brenda Jones Harden |
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| Institution: | 1. RTI International, 3040 Cornwallis Road, P.O. Box 12194, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2194, USA;2. Amy E. du Pont Chair of Child Development, Department of Psychology, University of Delaware Newark, 114 Wolf Hall, Newark, DE 19716, USA;3. RTI International, 1080 Grandview Drive, Providence, UT 84332, USA;4. RTI International, 230 W. Monroe, Suite 2100, Chicago, IL 60606-4901, USA;5. Division of Child and Family Development Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 370 L‘Enfant Promenade SW, Washington, DC 20447, USA;6. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation Administration for Children and Families, 370 L‘Enfant Plaza Promenade, SW, 7th Floor West, Washington, DC 20447, USA;g Institute for Child Study, Department of Human Development, University of Maryland College Park, 3301 Benjamin Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA |
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| Abstract: | This study describes the extent of caregiver instability (defined as a new placement for 1 week or longer in a different household and/or with a new caregiver) in a nationally representative sample of infants, followed for 5–7 years. Data were drawn from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), a longitudinal study of 5,501 children investigated for child maltreatment. The analysis sample was restricted to 1,196 infants. Overall, 85.6% of children who were infants at the time of the index maltreatment experienced at least one caregiver instability event during their first 2 years of life. Caregiver instability was associated with the child having a chronic health condition and the caregiver being older than 40 years of age at baseline. The levels of instability reported in this study from infancy to school entry are extremely high. Children with more risk factors were significantly more likely to experience caregiver instability than children with fewer risk factors. The repeated loss of a young child's primary caregiver or unavailable, neglectful care can be experienced as traumatic. Some evidence-based programs that are designed to work with young maltreated children can make a substantial positive difference in the lives of vulnerable infants. |
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| Keywords: | Caregiver instability Early life changes: Infants Child welfare system NSCAW |
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