Children and youth thrive when they have strong, safe, and supportive relationships and environments. However, many families struggle to provide such relationships and environments. CCFP researchers engage in longitudinal studies, partnerships with state and local social service agencies, and develop and evaluate innovative programs and services to understand and support struggling families and reduce child maltreatment.
This study investigated connections between short birth spacing (birth-to-conception interval of under 18 months) and the risk of child maltreatment and found that maternal history of childhood maltreatment and short birth spacing are independent, additive factors for child maltreatment risk.
In this study, primary care medical records were reviewed for children ages 3 to 17 with a subspecialty sexual abuse (SA) evaluation to assess factors associated with documentation of SA history and mental health management by the primary care provider.
This systematic review and meta-analysis examined associations of three types of ACEs (abuse, neglect, and household dysfunctions) with experiential (emotional quality of momentary and everyday experiences) and reflective (judgments about life satisfaction, sense of meaning, and ability to pursue goals that can include and extend beyond the self) facets of emotional well-being (EWB) and educational achievement.
This research brief summarizes finding from Electronic Health Record Tools to Identify Child Maltreatment: Scoping Literature Review and Key Informant Interviews, which reviewed existing research on EHR-based child abuse screens and clinical decision support systems. The authors also collected the perspectives of medical personnel on the implementation of such tools.
Evaluation of the Substance use Treatment and Access to Resources and Supports (STARS) program for pregnant women who have a substance use issue and babies who have been exposed to substances.
learn more about Substance Use Treatment & Access to Resources StudyProject Description This study of the postive parenting app tests the feasibility and effectiveness of a mobile-based app intervention designed to enhance home visiting by providing in-the-moment parenting tips with the goal of increasing healthy parent-child interactions leading to resiliency in high-risk children. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) profoundly influence brain and behavioral development and long-term…
learn more about Positive Parenting App StudyThe Durham Navigation Study is a randomized control trial to evaluate the impact of Community Navigation on outcomes for young children and their families.
learn more about Durham Navigation StudyThe Henderson-Polk Family Life Survey is an impact evaluation of the Family Connects home visiting program, when delivered using a hybrid telehealth model.
learn more about Henderson-Polk Family Life SurveyFindings 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. 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.
Receipt of maltreatment evaluation was associated with a higher risk of subsequent acute health service use, both for maltreatment-related illnesses and for broader conditions.
The authors performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of ACE exposure on Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) levels – a neural biomarker involved in childhood and adult neurogenesis and long-term memory formation.
Although there is a breadth of knowledge on child marriage in many low- and middle-income countries, little research and policy discussion exists surrounding child marriage within the United States. Using administrative data from several sources, this study examines how a range of different state-level variables, including political lean, academic performance, median household income, religiosity, population density, minimum age requirements and other state laws, such as parental and judicial consent, and median distance to an abortion clinic are related to variation in child marriage rates across states.