This is a sample of 543 documented cases of child neglect followed 30 years later. All cases were less than 11 years of age at the time the neglect/ abuse was documented. Neglect cases will be compared to cares of documented sexual abuse (N= 96) and documented physical abuse (N = 110) and a matched comparison group (N = 520). Assessments will include: (a) health status and health risk behavior; (b) economic productivity; (c) neighborhood hazards/ toxins; and (d) past and present service utilization and access to care. This study will also develop a self-report measure of neglect and assess correspondence of memories of neglect with documented history of neglect. Similar measures were developed in past research with this sample with regard to self report of childhood sexual and physical abuse. Some preliminary analyses from previous studies of this population have documented relatively high levels of health concerns, exposure to subsequent traumatic life events (e.g., rape) leading to PTSD, and relatively low SES. Within each domain of inquiry, several specific hypotheses are noted. Measures are drawn from previous epidemiological survey research, including the National Health Interview Survey, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, and the Social Support measure from the Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study. Some established questionnaires will be administered to participants to measures self esteem, locus of control, stressful life events, coping, and depression. Some limited neurobehavioral assessments will be completed, as well. Neighborhood characteristics will be assessed from census data on poverty, as well as by asking participants to describe their neighborhood during an interview. Economic productivity will be assessed using information about income, public assistance, size of home, etc. Plans are in place for a medical screening that will include immunological functioning and HIV status. The analysis plans were detailed and appropriate. Group comparisons will be made using MANOVAs with covariance, as necessary. Power analyses indicate adequate sample size, especially since the CSA and CPA groups will be aggregated for many of the analyses. Hierarchical multiple regressions are planned, as well as hierarchical linear modeling. Strategies for dealing with missing data are described. The investigators make appropriate cautions against over generalizing the results since current definitions and practices for documenting child abuse and neglect differ from those used 30 years ago.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD040774-04
Application #
6608068
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-SSS-C (01))
Program Officer
Feerick, Margaret M
Project Start
2000-09-14
Project End
2005-06-30
Budget Start
2003-07-01
Budget End
2004-06-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$1,107,398
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Medicine & Dentistry of NJ
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
623946217
City
Newark
State
NJ
Country
United States
Zip Code
07107
Widom, Cathy Spatz; Czaja, Sally J; Kozakowski, Sandra Sepulveda et al. (2018) Does adult attachment style mediate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and mental and physical health outcomes? Child Abuse Negl 76:533-545
Widom, Cathy Spatz; Horan, Jacqueline; Brzustowicz, Linda (2015) Childhood maltreatment predicts allostatic load in adulthood. Child Abuse Negl 47:59-69
Horan, Jacqueline M; Widom, Cathy S (2015) From Childhood Maltreatment to Allostatic Load in Adulthood: The Role of Social Support. Child Maltreat 20:229-39
Horan, Jacqueline M; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2015) Cumulative childhood risk and adult functioning in abused and neglected children grown up. Dev Psychopathol 27:927-41
Milaniak, Izabela; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2015) Does Child Abuse and Neglect Increase Risk for Perpetration of Violence Inside and Outside the Home? Psychol Violence 5:246-255
Francis, Melville M; Nikulina, Valentina; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2015) A Prospective Examination of the Mechanisms Linking Childhood Physical Abuse to Body Mass Index in Adulthood. Child Maltreat 20:203-13
Widom, Cathy Spatz; Czaja, Sally J; DuMont, Kimberly A (2015) Intergenerational transmission of child abuse and neglect: real or detection bias? Science 347:1480-5
Horan, Jacqueline M; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2015) Does age of onset of risk behaviors mediate the relationship between child abuse and neglect and outcomes in middle adulthood? J Youth Adolesc 44:670-82
Young, Joanna Cahall; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2014) Long-term effects of child abuse and neglect on emotion processing in adulthood. Child Abuse Negl 38:1369-81
Nikulina, Valentina; Widom, Cathy Spatz (2014) Do race, neglect, and childhood poverty predict physical health in adulthood? A multilevel prospective analysis. Child Abuse Negl 38:414-24

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