Problem Behaviors in Maltreated Children and Youth: Influential Child, Peer, and Caregiver Characteristics, 1999-2000 [United States] (ICPSR 4258)

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This project examined the problem behaviors of maltreated children and adolescents and the predictors of changes in behavior over an 18-month period. Problem behaviors included aggression, delinquency, risky sexual practices, substance abuse, and suicidal behaviors. The project used data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), a national probability survey of children assessed following a child maltreatment report. Hypotheses developed for the current research were: (1) Physically abused children are more aggressive than children who experience other types of maltreatment, (2) Child characteristics such as low academic achievement, low social skills, hyperactivity-impulsivity-attention (HIA) problems, and peer rejection are associated with higher aggression at baseline and less improvement in aggressive behavior over 18 months. (3) Caregiver characteristics such as caregiver monitoring, harsh discipline, domestic violence, arrest, substance abuse, and poverty are associated with higher aggression at baseline and less improvement in aggressive behavior over 18 months (4) Higher cumulative risk is associated with higher aggression at baseline and less improvement in aggression over 18 months. (5) Males are more aggressive than females. (6) Meaningful variation exists by gender for child and caregiver characteristics associated with aggressive behavior at baseline. (7) Factors associated with change in aggression over 18 months vary by gender.

Study Design View help for Study Design

Data used for this project are from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW), the first national longitudinal probability study of child welfare to collect extensive data from children, caregivers, teachers, and child welfare workers. This collection consists of SAS code used to produce subsets of the NSCAW data and the analyses for three chapters of the project's final report. Chapter 2 examined aggression and changes in behavior over 18 months for children aged six to ten years at the time of the baseline interview. Chapter 3 examined self-reported delinquency and caregiver-reported aggressive and delinquent behavior and changes in behavior over 18 months for youth aged 11 to 15 years at the time of the baseline interview. Chapter 4 examined risky behavior changes (risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, and suicidal risk behavior) over 18 months for youth aged 11 to 15 years at the time of the baseline interview.

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Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

Measures that can be created using the SAS code to subset the NSCAW data and for the Chapter 2 analyses include age at baseline (6 to 10 years), caregiver-reported behaviors of aggression, a new report(s) of abuse or neglect involving the child since the last interview, child characteristics (academic achievement, social skills, depression, hyperactivity-impulsivity-attention (HIA) problems, and peer rejection), and caregiver characteristics (domestic violence, parental arrest, parent substance abuse, and poverty), and a child cumulative risk score. Measures that can be created using the SAS code to create the subsets and for the Chapter 3 analyses include age at baseline (11 to 15 years), caregiver-reported behaviors of aggression and delinquency, child self-report of delinquency, child characteristics (hyperactivity-impulsivity-attention problems, social skills, academic achievement, depression, aggression, substance abuse, and risky sexual behavior), peer characteristics (deviant peer associations and peer rejection), and caregiver characteristics (relatedness to caregiver, caregiver monitoring of youth, discipline, and poverty level). A rater variable created for Chapters 2 and 3 indicated if the caregiver rating behavior at baseline and 18 months was the same, different, or could not be determined. Measures that can be created using the SAS code to create the subsets and for the Chapter 4 analyses include age at baseline (11 to 15 years), risky behaviors (risky sexual behavior, substance abuse, and suicidal behavior), child characteristics (academic achievement, school engagement, social skills, depression, aggression, HIA problems, externalizing behaviors, and sexually assaultive behavior), peer characteristics (deviant peer associations and peer rejection), and caregiver characteristics (relatedness to caregiver, caregiver monitoring of youth, discipline, and poverty level), and a parent cumulative risk score. Variables from the NSCAW data used in the SAS code include the child's gender and race/ethnicity, child maltreatment type, child welfare service setting, and sample weights.

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2005-07-06

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The SAS code includes use of the sample weights from the NSCAW data.