@article{ref1,
title="Risk of re-report: a latent class analysis of infants reported for maltreatment",
journal="Child abuse and neglect",
year="2016",
author="Eastman, Andrea Lane and Mitchell, Michael N. and Putnam-Hornstein, Emily",
volume="55",
number="",
pages="22-31",
abstract="A key challenge facing child protective services (CPS) is identifying children who are at greatest risk of future maltreatment. This analysis examined a cohort of children with a first report to CPS during infancy, a vulnerable population at high risk of future CPS reports. Birth records of all infants born in California in 2006 were linked to CPS records; 23,871 infants remaining in the home following an initial report were followed for 5 years to determine if another maltreatment report occurred. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subpopulations of infants based on varying risks of re-report. LCA model fit was examined using the Bayesian information criterion, a likelihood ratio test, and entropy. Statistical indicators and interpretability suggested the four-class model best fit the data. A second LCA included infant re-report as a distal outcome to examine the association between class membership and the likelihood of re-report. In Class 1 and Class 2 (lowest risk), the probability of a re-report was 44%; in contrast, the probability in Class 4 (highest risk) was 78%. Two birth characteristics clustered in the medium- and highest-risk classes: lack of established paternity and delayed or absent prenatal care. Two risk factors from the initial report of maltreatment emerged as predictors of re-report in the highest-risk class: an initial allegation of neglect and a family history of CPS involvement involving older siblings. <br><br>FINDINGS suggest that statistical techniques can be used to identify families with a heightened risk of experiencing later CPS contact.<br><br>Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0145-2134",
doi="10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.03.002",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.03.002"
}