Font Sarah A
University of Texas at Austin, Population Research Center, Austin, TX, USA
Child Maltreat. 2015 Nov;20(4):251-7. doi: 10.1177/1077559515597064. Epub 2015 Jul 29.
Keeping children safe in out-of-home care requires an understanding of the contexts under which maltreatment occurs. This study examines how maltreatment investigations differ across four settings (nonrelative foster, informal kinship, formal kinship, and congregate care). I focus on four elements of maltreatment: the perpetrator's role (e.g., out-of-home caregiver and peer), maltreatment type, probability of substantiation, and victim characteristics. I use statewide Wisconsin administrative data in years 2005-2012, which has an analytic sample of over 96,000 placements. Data are analyzed using descriptive statistics and multi-level logistic regression. Alleged maltreatment is not uncommon in out-of-home care-the total investigation rate ranged from 5% (congregate care) to 15% (informal kinship care). Four percent of all placements were investigated for maltreatment by an out-of-home caregiver, of which 9% were substantiated. Maltreatment by peers (siblings or other foster children) was investigated in 1% of all placements, of which 20% were substantiated. Neglect was the most commonly alleged maltreatment type in informal kinship care, whereas physical abuse was most commonly alleged in all other placement types. Children who were female, Black, or between ages 6 and 10 experienced heightened risk of maltreatment in out-of-home care.
保障儿童在家庭外照料环境中的安全需要了解虐待行为发生的背景。本研究考察了虐待调查在四种环境（非亲属寄养、非正式亲属照料、正式亲属照料和集体照料）中的差异。我关注虐待行为的四个要素：施虐者的角色（如家庭外照料者和同龄人）、虐待类型、被证实的可能性以及受害者特征。我使用了威斯康星州2005年至2012年的全州行政数据，其分析样本包含超过96,000次安置。数据采用描述性统计和多层次逻辑回归进行分析。在家庭外照料中，涉嫌虐待的情况并不罕见——总调查率从5%（集体照料）到15%（非正式亲属照料）不等。所有安置中有4%因家庭外照料者的虐待行为接受调查，其中9%被证实。在所有安置中有1%因同龄人（兄弟姐妹或其他寄养儿童）的虐待行为接受调查，其中20%被证实。忽视是非正式亲属照料中最常被指控的虐待类型，而在所有其他安置类型中，身体虐待最常被指控。女性、黑人或6至10岁的儿童在家庭外照料中遭受虐待的风险更高。
