Self-rated child maltreatment, behavioural problems, and contacts with welfare and police authorities–longitudinal community data

Abstract

This study examines how children report abuse, neglect and behavioural problems and what authorities they claim to have had contact with that are legally mandated to report to the Child Welfare Services, e.g. health services and police. It draws data from a longitudinal research programme, LoRDIA, in which four data collections followed adolescents’ development from 12 to 15 years (n = 1884). A total of 61 indicators of self-reported child abuse, neglect and behavioural problems were constructed to identify children with severe exposure so that each indicator would have prompted referral. The main finding is that 445 (25.3%) of the study population reported severe exposure of this magnitude. Among these self-reported severely exposed children (SSE), boys reported higher rates of child neglect and of overall behavioural problems, specifically criminal and other socially destructive behaviour. Poverty and living in single-parent households significantly increase the risk of abuse, neglect, and behavioural problems. Increased risk of neglect and criminal behaviour were found for children studying Swedish as second language. The SSE children more than other children report contact with all authorities with mandatory reporting. Odds ratios of contact were higher in the case of behavioural problems compared to the odds ratios for abuse and neglect.