@article{ref1,
title="Association of routine school closures with child maltreatment reporting and substantiation in the United States; 2010-2017",
journal="Child abuse and neglect",
year="2021",
author="Puls, Henry T. and Hall, Matthew and Frazier, Terra and Schultz, Kelly and Anderst, James D.",
volume="120",
number="",
pages="e105257-e105257",
abstract="BACKGROUND: There exists a presumption that school closures lead to a diminished capacity to detect child maltreatment, but empiric evidence is lacking. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: To determine if child maltreatment reporting and substantiation differ between periods when schools are routinely closed compared to in session. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Child maltreatment reporting and substantiation among all U.S. States and the District of Columbia from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2017. <br><br>METHODS: Two-week intervals during periods of routine school closure (early January, June through mid-August, late November, and late December) were compared to all other 2-week intervals. Negative binomial generalized estimating equations compared rates of reporting and substantiation, resulting in incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). <br><br>RESULTS: Compared to when school was in session, reporting was 16.0% (IRR 0.84 [95% CI: 0.83, 0.85]) lower during school closures and substantiations were 12.3% (IRR 0.88 [95% CI: 0.86, 0.89]) lower. The largest reductions in reporting were observed among education personnel (-42.1%; IRR 0.58 [95% CI: 0.54, 0.62]), children aged 5-17 years (-18.6%; IRR 0.81 [95% CI: 0.80, 0.83), and for physical abuse (-19.6%; IRR 0.80 [95% CI: 0.79, 0.82]). Reductions during closure periods were not matched by increases during two-week intervals immediately following closure periods. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the detection of child maltreatment may be diminished during periods of routine school closure. <br><br>FINDINGS may inform prevention planning and risk-benefit analyses for future school closures. Further study should disentangle the issue of decreased detection versus decreased prevalence of maltreatment during school closures.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0145-2134",
doi="10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105257",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105257"
}