Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA.
Child Maltreat. 2024 Nov;29(4):543-556. doi: 10.1177/10775595231171879. Epub 2023 Apr 29.
We examine population-level associations between birth spacing and child maltreatment using birth records and child welfare records for 1,099,230 second or higher parity children born in North Carolina between 1997 and 2013. Building upon previous research, administrative data linkages were used to address out-of-state migration and family-level heterogeneity in birth spacing and child maltreatment risk factors. Findings provide the strongest evidence to date that very short birth spacing of zero through 6 months from last birth to the index child's conception is a prenatal predictor of child maltreatment (indexed as child welfare involvement) throughout early childhood. Consequently, information about optimal family planning during the postpartum period should become a standard component of universal and targeted child maltreatment prevention programs. However, challenging previous empirical evidence, this study reports inconsistent results for benefits of additional spacing delay beyond 6 months with regard to child maltreatment risk reduction, especially for children of racial and ethnic minorities. These findings call for further inquiry about the mechanisms driving the connections between birth spacing and Child Protective Services assessments.
我们利用北卡罗来纳州 1997 年至 2013 年间出生的 1,099,230 名第二胎或以上的儿童的出生记录和儿童福利记录，研究了生育间隔与儿童虐待之间的人群水平关联。基于先前的研究，利用行政数据链接解决了州外迁移以及生育间隔和儿童虐待风险因素方面的家庭异质性问题。研究结果提供了迄今为止最有力的证据，表明从上次分娩到索引儿童受孕的零至 6 个月的极短生育间隔是儿童虐待（以儿童福利介入为指标）整个幼儿期的产前预测指标。因此，关于产后期间最佳家庭规划的信息应成为普遍和有针对性的儿童虐待预防计划的标准组成部分。然而，与之前的实证证据相矛盾的是，本研究报告了生育间隔超过 6 个月对降低儿童虐待风险的益处不一致的结果，尤其是对于少数族裔儿童。这些发现呼吁进一步探究生育间隔与儿童保护服务评估之间联系的驱动机制。
