Georgia State University, School of Public Health, Atlanta, USA.
Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA.
Trauma Violence Abuse. 2024 Jan;25(1):613-629. doi: 10.1177/15248380231158609. Epub 2023 Mar 19.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fostered an environment for increased risk of child maltreatment (CM) as families experience increased psychosocial and financial burdens and spend unprecedented amounts of time together in the home. This narrative review aimed to summarize empirical findings on existing or new pandemic-related risk factors among caregivers. A combination of search terms related to CM and COVID-19 were used to identify articles published within five databases between February 2020 and July 2022. Literature searches produced 113 articles, of which 26 published across 12 countries met inclusion criteria. Four previously well-established risk factors for CM perpetration continued to persist during the pandemic, including stress, parental mental health, financial concerns, and parental substance use. Of note, inconsistent definitions and measures were used to capture these risk factors. Several additional emerging and understudied risk factors were also identified among limited articles, such as food insecurity and parental education. Findings emphasize the ongoing need for evidence-based interventions to address CM risk during the pandemic, including parent training programs. However, consolidated measures and consistent conceptualization of risk factors are needed to advance the study of CM. Going forward, practitioners and researchers should (a) strengthen the identification process for families at greatest risk for CM, and particularly those vulnerable to pandemic-related stressors; and (b) augment delivery of CM prevention strategies and evidence-based programs to fit the pandemic context.
COVID-19 大流行使儿童虐待（CM）的风险增加，因为家庭承受着更大的心理社会和经济负担，并在家中度过前所未有的长时间。本叙述性综述旨在总结有关照顾者中与 COVID-19 相关的现有或新的风险因素的实证研究结果。使用与 CM 和 COVID-19 相关的组合搜索词在五个数据库中搜索了 2020 年 2 月至 2022 年 7 月之间发表的文章。文献搜索产生了 113 篇文章，其中 12 个国家发表的 26 篇文章符合纳入标准。在大流行期间，继续存在包括压力、父母心理健康、经济问题和父母药物使用在内的四个先前确立的 CM 实施风险因素。值得注意的是，这些风险因素的捕捉使用了不一致的定义和措施。在为数不多的文章中，还发现了几个新出现和研究不足的风险因素，例如粮食不安全和父母教育。研究结果强调了在大流行期间需要进行基于证据的干预措施来解决 CM 风险，包括父母培训计划。然而，需要统一的措施和对风险因素的一致概念化来推进 CM 的研究。展望未来，从业者和研究人员应该：(a) 加强对最易发生 CM 风险的家庭的识别过程，特别是那些容易受到与大流行相关的压力源影响的家庭；和 (b) 增强 CM 预防策略和基于证据的计划的实施，以适应大流行的背景。
