Latent classes of child neglect types and associated characteristics

Abstract

Background: Children who experience neglect typically endure multiple types of neglect and abuse during a single maltreatment incident. However, research on the phenomenology and predictors of neglect types has primarily examined neglect types in isolation.

Objective: To advance understanding of neglect incidents that more accurately reflect the experiences of children who have been neglected, we examined latent classes of neglect defined by co-occurring neglect types and multiple forms of abuse. To inform efforts to identify families at-risk for particular classes of neglect, associations between child, parent, and family characteristics and latent classes were examined.

Participants and setting: 390 child neglect incidents substantiated at U.S. Army installations.

Methods: Neglect types and incident severity were coded using the Modified Maltreatment Classification System. Child, parent, and family characteristics were coded using information drawn from case records.

Results: Latent class analysis yielded 5 classes: exposure to violence, failure to provide, supervisory lapses, substance-related endangerment, and non-specific. The exposure to violence and substance-related endangerment classes were characterized as highly severe. High and low severity classes were associated with distinct child, parent, and family characteristics. The latent classes were also differentiated by distal outcomes, including probability of law enforcement investigation, child removal from home, and offender removal from home.

Conclusions: By identifying the types of neglect and abuse that are likely to occur concomitantly as well as the child, parent, and family characteristics associated with increased risk of latent classes of neglect, results advance knowledge regarding the phenomenology of neglect types and inform prevention efforts.

Keywords: Child maltreatment; Ecological theory; Latent class analysis; Neglect types.