The Temporal Impact of Economic Insecurity on Child Maltreatment: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Economically insecure children experience 3–9 times more maltreatment than economically secure children. Although economic insecurity is associated with child physical abuse, neglect, and psychological maltreatment, there have been no systematic reviews dedicated to the relation between familial economic insecurity and child maltreatment. This is problematic because multiple forms of familial economic insecurity—including debt, material hardship, income, unemployment, and income transfers—are related to child maltreatment. These findings, however, are not causal or reliably replicated across studies. Until we identify the state of the evidence concerning the temporal association between economic insecurity and child maltreatment, our ability to reduce child maltreatment may be limited. In this systematic review (PROSPERO registration # CRD42017081445), we searched PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations, and the gray literature for English-language, peer-reviewed articles and dissertations published between 1970 and 2016. We synthesized evidence from 26 longitudinal studies on the temporal relation between economic insecurity and child maltreatment. Income losses, cumulative material hardship, and housing hardship were the most reliable predictors of child maltreatment. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.