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Relationship Between Birth Spacing, Child Maltreatment, and Child Behavior and Development Outcomes Among At-Risk Families

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Abstract

Prior research indicates that closely spaced births are associated with poor outcomes for the mother and subsequent child. Limited research has focused on outcomes for the index child (the child born immediately prior to a subsequent child in a birth interval). The objectives are to assess the association of short birth intervals in at-risk families with: (1) indicators of harsh and neglectful parenting behaviors towards the index child, including substantiated maltreatment reports across 6 years; and (2) the index child’s behavior and development in first grade. This is a longitudinal study of 658 women screened to be at-risk for child maltreatment. Twenty percent of women had a rapid repeat birth (RRB), defined as the birth of a subsequent child within 24 months of the index child. Generalized estimating equations, survival analyses, and linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between RRB and index child outcomes. Women with an RRB were more likely than those without an RRB to report neglectful parenting of the index child. Children of mothers with an RRB were more likely than children of mothers without an RRB to have more behavioral problems and lower cognitive functioning in first grade. This study is among the first to focus on the associations of birth spacing with maltreatment, behavior and development outcomes in the index child. Future work regarding the effects of birth spacing should include a focus on the index child.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the National Institute for Mental Health (Grant P30MH38725); the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (Grant R40 MC 00029, formerly Grant MCJ-240637, and Grant R40 MC 00123, formerly Grant MCJ-240838); the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Grant 18303); the Annie E. Casey Foundation (Grant 94-4041); the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Grants 93-6051; 94-7957, 97-8058, and 98-3448) and the Hawaii State Department of Health (Grant 99-29-J). Additional support provided by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality NRSA Fellowship (Grant T32 HS017596).

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  1. Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 200 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Sarah Shea Crowne, Kay Gonsalves, Lori Burrell, Elizabeth McFarlane & Anne Duggan

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  1. Sarah Shea Crowne
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  2. Kay Gonsalves
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Correspondence to Sarah Shea Crowne.

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Crowne, S.S., Gonsalves, K., Burrell, L. et al. Relationship Between Birth Spacing, Child Maltreatment, and Child Behavior and Development Outcomes Among At-Risk Families. Matern Child Health J 16, 1413–1420 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-011-0909-3

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