Exploring the risks of substantiated physical neglect related to poverty and parental characteristics: A national sample

This paper uses data from the National Study of Protective, Preventive, and Reunification Services Delivered to Children and Their Families, 1994 to estimate the effects of several indicators of poverty and parental characteristics associated with substantiated physical neglect. Results suggest there is a high correlation between substantiated physical neglect and several indicators of poverty (i.e. AFDC, food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment, and WIC). After controlling for family characteristics in a logistic regression, those indicators of poverty were not found to be predictive of substantiated physical neglect. Only WIC recipients had an association, and they were less likely to have physical neglect substantiated. The two strongest predictors of physical neglect were related to primary caretakers who were twice as likely to have physical neglect substantiated if they had mental health or substance abuse problems.