Child Maltreatment Log
Abuse and Neglect Research Data Collection Instrument. The purpose of the
awards would be to pilot test a data collection instrument ("Child
Maltreatment Log") and perform standard tests of its properties (reliability
and validity) and usefulness as a measurement tool for child abuse and
neglect research purposes.
Since 1994, members of the Research Subcommittee of the Interagency Work
Group on Child Abuse and Neglect, the successor to the Interagency Task Force
on Child Abuse and Neglect, have been working to develop a data collection
system assessing core variables which could be used by researchers to
describe children's maltreatment experiences. This project was prompted by a
report issued by the National Academy of Sciences in 1993 that concluded that
research on child maltreatment was hindered by numerous serious
methodological problems, based in large part on a lack of specificity in
definitions. In summarizing problems related to definitions of child
maltreatment that panel made the following statement:
"Research definitions of child maltreatment are inconsistent, and the breadth
and quality of instrumentation for child maltreatment studies are seriously
incomplete. The variation in existing definitions and inadequate
instrumentation impedes high-quality research, inhibits the comparison of
studies of related phenomena, and restrains the development of good
evaluation of intervention efforts. Improved definitions and instrumentation
will facilitate the development of small- and large-scale epidemiological
investigations. These investigations would provide solid information on the
occurrence of these important problems as well as on key etiological agents."
(Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect, Washington DC: National Academy of
Science Press, 1993, p. 31)
In response to these conclusions, the Research Subcommittee has sponsored a
project designed to support data collection that can be used to develop
definitions to guide researchers interested in the antecedents and effects of
child maltreatment. The data collected will be able to meet the analytic
needs of researchers from a variety of disciplines using varied methodologies
and support meta-analyses of data collected from different studies.
The committee adopted a very specific format of operational definitions. By
collecting specific descriptive data about maltreatment and associated
experiences it should be possible to avoid or minimize problems which have
characterized attempts to classify or define abuse in more global terms as
well as eliminate unintentional attribution and valuation. Incidents and
descriptive information collected are independent of potential outcomes.
The format implemented in the Child Maltreatment Log guides researchers to
collect information at the most basic level, requiring the fewest
inferences. To further improve the accuracy/reliability of the information
collected, separate scales were developed to collect information about
perpetrators, actions (or failure to act), frequency of events, source of
information, informants, injuries, and medical treatment. This format of
data collection fosters the creation of an accurate data base while allowing
researchers the maximum flexibility to combine dimensions of interest to
create higher order constructs.
Drafts of the initial instrument were circulated by mail and at conferences
to more than 150 professionals in the child maltreatment field. After
comprehensive revisions were made, the Log was computerized to allow
efficient and uniform collection of the very specific core information. The
person completing the questionnaire is asked to indicate whether or not
certain events have occurred. After indicating that an event has occurred,
the respondent is probed about the identity of the alleged perpetrator (and
in the case of neglect possible caretaker), the approximate timing of the
event, and the frequency of the event. Once a perpetrator has been
identified, the program prompts the respondent to review a list of other
possible acts of maltreatment the child might have experienced. After
completing this process, the respondent is asked if the child has experienced
any of these events with people other than the original perpetrator. If so
the process is repeated for the second perpetrator. In addition to the
specific information about the maltreatment, researchers are asked to provide
mental health and socio-demographic information about the child and the
alleged perpetrator(s). Information about substance abuse and involvement in
criminal activity is also collected. Respondents are asked to indicate the
source of information for the alleged maltreatment event (e.g., medical
records, personnel interview, standardized tests) and the informant (e.g.,
alleged victim, mother, caseworker) and to indicate whether the child was
injured and received medical treatment. The instrument requires 20-45
minutes to complete depending on the complexity of the case and the
respondent's familiarity with the program. In this pilot phase, researchers
may choose their own methods for collecting the data (for example, record
extraction, client interview, or worker interview). Samples must be new data
collections, not archival data where the amount of missing data may be
excessive.
The Children's Bureau, and associated partners, believe that field testing
the Child Maltreatment Log to establish its reliability and validity and its
cross-setting utility has the potential to improve the quality of research in
the area of child maltreatment.
