Trajectories of adolescent psychopathology among youth who were maltreated and placed in out-of-home care.

Background: Although researchers have found an increased risk for psychopathology among maltreated adolescents placed in out-of-home care, different trajectories of psychopathology by out-of-home placements have not been previously studied.

Objective: The current study is built on previous investigation of youth in different long-term out-of-home placements and examined the trajectories of adolescent psychopathology by out-of-home placement classes.

Participants And Setting: We leveraged data from the Southwestern site of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect.

Household composition and maltreatment allegations in the US: Deconstructing the at-risk single mother family.

Background: Previous research has demonstrated the association between child maltreatment and household composition, with increased maltreatment risk generally present in single mother households. However, existing research does not fully examine the complexity and configuration of single mother households. In particular, less is known about important variants of single parent family structures, such as grandparents residing in the home, and the extent to which household compositions change across time.

Child maltreatment and age of alcohol and marijuana initiation in high-risk youth.

Introduction: Youth with a history of child maltreatment use substances and develop substance use disorders at rates above national averages. Thus far, no research has examined pathways from maltreatment to age of substance use initiation for maltreated youth. We examined the longitudinal impact of maltreatment in early childhood on age of alcohol and marijuana use initiation, and whether internalizing and externalizing behaviors at age 8 mediates the link between maltreatment and age of substance use initiation.

Unstable child welfare permanent placements and early adolescent physical and mental health: The roles of adverse childhood experiences and post-traumatic stress.

Although researchers have found that child welfare placement disruptions are associated with elevated youth physical and mental health problems, the mechanisms that explain this association have not been previously studied. The present study built on a previous investigation of the physical and behavioral consequences of long-term permanent placement patterns among youth who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). The current investigation (n=251) aimed to (a) report the early adolescent living situations of youth with different long-term placement patterns, and (b) to delineate the roles of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and post-traumatic stress (PTS) reactions in the association between unstable long-term placement patterns and physical and mental health problems during the transition to adolescence.

Child Maltreatment and Risky Sexual Behavior.

Risky sexual behavior is a serious public health problem. Child sexual abuse is an established risk factor, but other forms of maltreatment appear to elevate risky behavior. The mechanisms by which child maltreatment influence risk are not well understood.