Citation

Elias TI, Blais N, Williams K, Burke JG. Soc. Work Public Health 2018; 33(7-8): 407-418.

Affiliation

Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, Graduate School of Public Health , University of Pittsburgh , Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/19371918.2018.1543625

PMID

30497349

Abstract

Substantiated reports of child neglect account for three times the combined total of physical and sexual abuse in the United States, yet there is a relative paucity of literature on child neglect differentiated from abuse. This study explores parent perspectives on the challenges of meeting the needs of children in poverty as a way of reframing our understanding of child neglect, revealing dynamics that can be lost to researchers. Analysis of six focus groups of 54 parents, living at or below the poverty level, revealed tensions between environmental challenges and parents' efforts to meet their children's needs. The authors present a model revealing the complex and dynamic interplay between families and their environment to meet children's needs, revealing pivotal intervention points.

FINDINGS suggest the need for major shifts of public health focus to prevent child neglect, including advocating for policy-level changes that affect the poorest communities, and opportunities for multiple disciplinary intervention efforts that go beyond an individual focus.

Language: en

Keywords

Neglect; community-engaged research; maltreatment; poverty; qualitative research