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Acts of Omission : An Overview of Child Neglect
Bulletin for Professionals

Author(s):  Child Welfare Information Gateway

Year Published:  2001

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You are in section: Table of Contents 1 - How big is the problem? 2 - What is neglect? 3 - Selected issues 4 - What are the characteristics of… 5 - What are the consequences of… 6 - Interventions 7 - Research 8 - Summary and conclusion References Endnotes

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Research

As many have noted, in spite of the fact that child neglect is more prevalent than other types of child maltreatment, historically it has not received much research attention. For example, Zuravin (1999) searched 489 articles published in the International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect between 1992 and 1996; only 25 articles reported empirical findings on neglect only or separately from findings on other types of maltreatment. Clearly, more research is needed to more fully understand the problem of child neglect.

Current Research
Although neglect historically has been studied less than other types of maltreatment, it now seems to be gaining recognition. The Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that of 159 studies examining maltreatment underway in 1998, 93 were studying neglect, alone or in combination with other types of maltreatment, and 74 were differentiating the types of maltreatment so that findings may be understood more clearly (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).

One ongoing effort to focus research on child neglect is a project entitled "A Longitudinal Study of Child Neglect" (Dubowitz, 1996). This study is part of the Consortium of Longitudinal Studies in Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN), which first received funding in 1991 from the Department of Health and Human Services. LONGSCAN is a set of five coordinated research projects designed to examine the antecedents and consequences of child maltreatment. Dubowitz's study on child neglect recently received five additional years of funding from DHHS to continue. The objectives of this study include examining the relationship between various factors and child neglect, exploring fathers' involvement in child neglect and child development, and examining the consequences of child neglect (Dubowitz, 1996).

A recently launched research effort on child neglect is being sponsored by a consortium of Federal agencies led by the National Institutes of Health.¹² Fifteen awards were granted in October 2000 in response to a Request for Applications for Research on Child Neglect. The projects funded are examining various aspects of neglect using various research models. Some projects are examining sub-types of neglect, consequences of neglect, factors contributing to neglect, and service usage by neglecting families. Some are looking at economic, medical, psychological and behavioral issues. Some are focusing on infants and young children; others are focusing on adolescents. Some are short-term and some are longitudinal. This project promises to bring a wealth and breadth of new information to the field of child neglect.

Recommendations for Future Research
There are numerous recommendations for future research into child neglect. Continued research is needed regarding an accepted definition of neglect, including sub-types of neglect (Black & Dubowitz, 1999; Zuravin, 1999). More research is needed to develop and refine strategies to measure neglect (Black & Dubowitz, 1999; Portwood, 1999). More research is needed to understand the consequences of neglect for children (Dubowitz, 1996) and factors that might protect children from the harsh consequences (Black & Dubowitz, 1999). Further studies are needed to examine the association between poverty and neglect (Theodore & Runyan, 1999), including an exploration of how impoverished parents protect their children from the effects of poverty and avoid neglect (Black & Dubowitz, 1999; Pelton, 1994). Finally, more research is needed to investigate the effectiveness of various interventions (Portwood, 1999; Theodore & Runyan, 1999).

previous

You are in section: Table of Contents 1 - How big is the problem? 2 - What is neglect? 3 - Selected issues 4 - What are the characteristics of… 5 - What are the consequences of… 6 - Interventions 7 - Research 8 - Summary and conclusion References Endnotes

next

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Updated on October 9, 2009