Citation

McKelvey LM, Whiteside-Mansell L, Conners-Burrow NA, Swindle T, Fitzgerald S. Child Abuse Negl. 2015; 51: 295-302.

Affiliation

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, 4301 W. Markham St, #530, Little Rock, AR 72205-7199, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.09.008

PMID

26455263

Abstract

The general aim of early intervention and home visiting programs is to support families to minimize Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). However, assessing children's exposure to these risks is complicated because parents serve as the conduit for both measurement and intervention. The primary aims of the study were to develop an assessment of children's exposure to ACEs and to examine concurrently measured parental child abuse and neglect potential and child social-emotional functioning. Home visiting programs in a southern state implemented the Family Map Inventories (FMI) as comprehensive family assessment and child screenings (N=1,282) within one month of enrollment. Children (M=33 months of age, SD=20) were exposed at rates of 27% to one, 18% to two, 11% to three, and 12% to four or more FMI-ACEs. FMI-ACEs were associated with increased parental beliefs and behaviors associated with child abuse and neglect. FMI-ACEs also significantly predicted the likelihood of the child having at-risk social-emotional development; children with 4 or more FMI-ACEs were over 6 times more likely than those with none to have at-risk scores. The findings add to our understanding of the negative impact of trauma on children and families. Assessing these risks as they occur in a family-friendly manner provides a platform for early intervention programs to work with families to increase family strengths and reduce the impacts of adverse experiences for their children.

Language: en