Elsevier

Aggression and Violent Behavior

Volume 29, July–August 2016, Pages 10-19
Aggression and Violent Behavior

A conceptual model of the relationship between maltreatment and externalizing, antisocial, and criminal behavior problems, and the intervening role of child welfare service delivery

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2016.05.005Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Theory is rarely applied in research connecting maltreatment to behavior problems.

  • Six theoretical perspectives were analyzed and integrated into a conceptual model.

  • The model explains the relationship between maltreatment and behavior problems.

  • The model also explores a role for child welfare services in intervening.

Abstract

Despite a substantial body of research examining the relationship between child maltreatment and externalizing, antisocial, and criminal behavior problems, theory is rarely applied in the current empirical research literature. The lack of theoretical application limits opportunities to understand the mechanisms explaining why maltreatment is associated with behavior problems, and the best strategies for intervening to interrupt this association. The purpose of this paper is to analyze relevant theoretical perspectives and develop a conceptual model explaining the relationship between maltreatment and behavior problems, and the intervening role of child welfare services. Six theoretical perspectives were selected for analysis: the ecological model, the transactional model, attachment theory, the life course perspective, the social learning perspective, and social–biological models. After applying these theories to understanding the maltreatment–behavior problem association and the role of child welfare services in intervening, insights from these theories were synthesized into a conceptual model. The policy and practice implications of this model are discussed, with a focus on the implications for child welfare workers, administrators, and policymakers.

Introduction

Child abuse and neglect is a serious childhood adversity associated with significant social and economic costs and a range of consequences for children and youth, including depression and other internalizing issues and disruptions to cognitive and emotional development (Cicchetti & Toth, 2005). It is well established that maltreatment is associated with behavior problems, such as externalizing, antisocial, and delinquent or criminal behavior (e.g., Burnette et al., 2012, Cecil et al., 2014, Ryan et al., 2013). Almost thirty years ago, Garbarino and Plantz (1986) underscored the difficulty involved in understanding the magnitude, direction, and significance of this association, an observation that remains true. Behavior problems may play a causal role in eliciting maltreatment or may be a consequence of abuse or neglect, a bidirectional relationship may exist, or alternatively, maltreatment and behavior problems may have common causes. Complex contextual mechanisms likely explain why maltreatment and behavior problems are associated for some young people, but not others. The difficulty in understanding these complex issues demands attention to a spectrum of diverse theoretical perspectives that can explain the relationship between child abuse and neglect and externalizing, antisocial, and criminal behaviors. A comprehensive analysis and integration of theories will illuminate the mechanisms linking maltreatment with behavior problems and will provide insight into the question of which maltreated children are at greatest risk.

Child welfare services represent a key service system for children and youth who experience maltreatment, a population at significant risk of behavioral difficulties. Indeed, it is estimated that between 20 and 50% of the populations served by child welfare systems struggle with clinically significant behavior problems such as aggression and criminality (see Campbell et al., 2013, Ellenbogen et al., 2013, Keil and Price, 2006, Postlethwait et al., 2010). Child welfare services are in a position to play a crucial role in preventing behavior problems among maltreated children, as well as intervening to facilitate service delivery for children who exhibit behavioral difficulties. It is unclear, however, how child welfare systems can best meet the needs of the vulnerable young people who have experienced maltreatment and demonstrate externalizing, antisocial, or criminal behaviors. Analyzing and integrating theoretical knowledge will offer insight into the specific elements of child welfare services that promote positive outcomes, and the factors that constrain effective service delivery.

While the empirical literature offers some understanding of why maltreatment is associated with behavior problems and how child welfare service providers can best support maltreated children with these problems, this paper contributes to the scant body of work that applies theories to these questions. After a comprehensive review of relevant literature, six theoretical perspectives were selected for further analysis: the ecological model, the transactional model, attachment theory, the life course perspective, the social learning perspective, and social–biological models. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and integrate these theoretical perspectives into a conceptual model that further explains (1) why child maltreatment is associated with behavior problems, and (2) how child welfare services can prevent and alleviate behavioral difficulties among children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Informed by theories from across various disciplines, the theoretical analysis and integration presented in this paper is intended to assist researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in developing effective interventions and directing those interventions toward the most vulnerable children and youth.

Section snippets

Ecological model

Ecological models represent an evolving body of theory and research focused on the environmental processes that impact human development across the life course (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Originally developed by Bronfenbrenner in the 1970s (Bronfenbrenner, 1974, Bronfenbrenner, 1977, Bronfenbrenner, 1979), a central tenet of the ecological model is that physical, social, and emotional development is impacted by the interactions between individual characteristics and the environment, including the

Comparison of theoretical perspectives

Six theoretical perspectives (the ecological model, the transactional model, attachment theory, the life course perspective, the social learning perspective, and social–biological models) have been analyzed and applied in this conceptual paper. These perspectives offer useful insight into the mechanisms explaining the relationship between maltreatment and behavior problems, while also offering guidance to child welfare practitioners in identifying and responding effectively to children at

Implications and conclusions

There is little doubt that the relationship between maltreatment and behavior problems is complex to understand and to address. Examining theories of human development, child maltreatment, developmental psychopathology, and criminal behavior is necessary in order to capture the complex processes through which maltreatment and behavior problems are associated, and to determine the best child welfare intervention strategies. The theoretical perspectives reviewed in this paper highlight the many

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (752-2012-2271) and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship.

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