The timing of academic difficulties among maltreated and nonmaltreated children.

Objective: In this study we examined the relationship between child maltreatment and the timing of academic difficulties.

Method: This study uses survival analysis to investigate the timing of risk of experiencing an academic difficulty for the first time. Three types of academic difficulties were examined-grade repetitions, poor English grades, and poor math grades. The sample included approximately 300 maltreated and 300 nonmaltreated children aged 5-18.

Results: Maltreated children displayed greater risk than nonmaltreated children of repeating a grade and receiving a poor English and mathematics grade for the first time across most elementary years. Maltreated and nonmaltreated children share the same peaks in risk: first grade for their first grade repetitions and kindergarten for their first poor English and math grade. The best-fitting discrete time hazards models suggested underlying temporal patterns of risk vary according to the type of academic difficulty. For instance, maltreated children were at substantially higher risk than nonmaltreated children of repeating kindergarten and first grade. From second through sixth grade, maltreated and nonmaltreated children were indistinguishable in their risk of repeating a grade for the first time. In contrast, discrete-time hazards modeling showed that while the absolute risk of receiving a poor English or mathematics grade changes across the elementary years, the relative risk by maltreatment status does not.

Conclusions: While maltreated and nonmaltreated children share the same peaks in risk, the relative risk changes across time for grade repetitions but not for the first occurrence of a poor English or mathematics grade. In summary, this study highlights the importance of time in understanding the relationship between child maltreatment and academic difficulties.