Palmer Lindsey, King Bryn, Eastman Andrea Lane, Ahn Eunhye, Reddy Julia, Putnam-Hornstein Emily
College of Social Work, University of Utah, 395 1500 E, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA.
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, 246 Bloor Street W, Toronto, ON, M5S 1V4, Canada.
Matern Child Health J. 2025 May;29(5):650-659. doi: 10.1007/s10995-025-04080-z. Epub 2025 Apr 4.
The current study examined differential rates of child protective services (CPS) involvement between infants with one or two legally established parents at birth.
Vital birth records were used to document all children with a registered birth in California in 2017 (N = 470,854). This birth cohort was then prospectively followed in linked CPS records through age 1 year.
Birth records indicated that 7.1% of infants (n = 33,597) had only one legally established parent. Adjusting for sociodemographic factors, infants with only one parent documented on the birth record were more than twice as likely to be reported for maltreatment (IRR = 2.20; 99% CI [2.12, 2.29]). In the overall birth cohort, significant differences in the likelihood of a CPS report were observed by parental sociodemographic factors (education, age, public insurance, race and ethnicity); however, these same factors were attenuated, to varying degrees, among infants with a single legal parent.
Infants born with a single legal parent had a higher concentration of factors associated with heightened rates of CPS involvement. Assessing the circumstances associated with single parenthood, such as understanding household composition and who is involved in the infant's care, may explain potential vulnerability and identify service needs.
本研究调查了出生时具有一位或两位法定父母的婴儿中儿童保护服务（CPS）介入的差异率。
使用出生登记记录记录2017年在加利福尼亚州登记出生的所有儿童（N = 470,854）。然后通过关联的CPS记录对该出生队列进行前瞻性追踪，直至1岁。
出生记录显示，7.1%的婴儿（n = 33,597）只有一位法定父母。在对社会人口统计学因素进行调整后，出生记录上仅记录有一位父母的婴儿遭受虐待报告的可能性是其他婴儿的两倍多（发病率比值比[IRR]=2.20；99%置信区间[2.12, 2.29]）。在整个出生队列中，根据父母的社会人口统计学因素（教育程度、年龄、公共保险、种族和民族）观察到CPS报告可能性的显著差异；然而，在只有一位法定父母的婴儿中，这些相同因素的影响在不同程度上有所减弱。
出生时只有一位法定父母的婴儿中，与CPS介入率升高相关的因素更为集中。评估与单亲家庭相关的情况，例如了解家庭构成以及谁参与婴儿的照料，可能有助于解释潜在的脆弱性并确定服务需求。
