A Multilevel Meta-analysis on Academic Achievement Among Maltreated Youth

Construct validity of probable child maltreatment indicators using prospectively recorded information in a longitudinal cohort of Canadian children

BACKGROUND

Officially reported and self-reported measures of child maltreatment show poor agreement and may differentially predict psychosocial problems in adulthood. However, research remains primarily based on retrospective self-reports, warranting examination of the validity of prospective assessments of maltreatment.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the construct validity of prospective indicators of child maltreatment using a longitudinal cohort of Canadian children.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

The population-based cohort comprises 2120 participants born between 1997 and 1998 in Quebec, Canada.

METHODS

Maternal and familial risk factors (maternal age, depressive symptoms, and antisocial behaviors, socioeconomic status, and single-parent home) and early adulthood functioning difficulties (depression, anxiety, suicidality, alcohol misuse, and unemployment status) were assessed across various time points (0-23 years). Associations between factors and prospective and retrospective maltreatment indicators were appraised.

RESULTS

Most maternal and familial risk factors (80 %) showed associations with indicators of prospective maltreatment (ΔM = +/-0.04 to 0.72; p < 0.05). Several early adulthood functioning difficulties (30 %) showed associations with physical (ΔM = 0.05 to 0.22; p < 0.05) and sexual abuse (ΔM = 0.33 to 0.34; p < 0.05), while emotional, supervisory, and physical neglect were only associated with educational/employment status (ΔM = 0.04 to 0.10; p < 0.05). Cumulatively assessed maltreatment also showed a dose-response relationship with maternal and familial risk factors/functioning difficulties.

CONCLUSIONS

The strong construct validity exhibited by our prospective indicators highlights the need to assess child maltreatment multi-modally. Our findings further contribute to the wider discussion surrounding the measurement of child maltreatment.

The association between child maltreatment and academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Although the association between child maltreatment and academic performance has been well-established, the magnitude of these associations remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to summarize the associations between child maltreatment and its subtypes (physical, emotional, sexual abuse, and neglect) and academic achievement (general achievement, language arts, and math) as well as to explore potential moderators.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

This present meta-analysis included 59 studies with 211,568 participants, of which 50.6 % were girls, and their mean age was 10.49 years.

METHODS

Seven English and three Chinese databases were searched on empirical studies that reported the association between child maltreatment and academic performance. Effect sizes (r) were synthesized using the random-effects model and moderation analyses were further performed.

RESULTS

General child maltreatment and its four subtypes were associated with poor academic performance (aggregated: r = -0.16, 95 % CI [-0.18, -0.14]), language arts (aggregated: r = -0.20, 95 % CI [-0.22, -0.18]), and math (aggregated: r = -0.21, 95 % CI [-0.24, -0.17]). Emotional abuse and neglect had more adverse effects on academic performance than other types of maltreatment. Additionally, among maltreated children, boys, younger children, and those living in Europe-American regions tended to report relatively poorer academic performance than their counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a significantly negative association between child maltreatment and academic performance, although it varies by age, gender, country, and the measurements. These findings suggest that child maltreatment programs and educational support plan should be promptly developed and tailored to be age-specific, gender-sensitive, and culturally responsive to better support maltreated children.

To trust or not to trust in the thrall of the COVID-19 pandemic: Conspiracy endorsement and the role of adverse childhood experiences, epistemic trust, and personality functioning

RATIONALE

Conspiracy endorsement is a public health challenge for the successful containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. While usually considered a societal phenomenon, little is known about the equally important developmental backdrops and personality characteristics like mistrust that render an individual prone to conspiracy endorsement. There is a growing body of evidence implying a detrimental role of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) - a highly prevalent developmental burden - in the development of epistemic trust and personality functioning. This study aimed to investigate the association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement in the general population, specifically questioning a mediating role of epistemic trust and personality functioning.

METHODS

Based on cross-sectional data from a representative German survey collected during the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 2501), we conducted structural equation modelling (SEM) where personality functioning (OPD-SQS) and epistemic trust (ETMCQ) were included as mediators of the association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement. Bootstrapped confidence intervals (5000 samples, 95%-CI) are presented for all paths.

RESULTS

ACEs were significantly associated with conspiracy endorsement (β = 0.25, p < 0.001) and explained 6% of its variance. Adding epistemic trust and personality functioning as mediators increased the explained variance of conspiracy endorsement to 19% while the direct association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement was diminished (β = 0.12, p < 0.001), indicating an indirect effect of personality functioning and epistemic trust in the association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement. Fit indices confirmed good model fit.

CONCLUSIONS

Establishing an association between ACEs and conspiracy endorsement further increases the evidence for early childhood adversities' far-reaching and detrimental effects. By including epistemic trust and personality functioning, these findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms in the way that ACEs may be associated with conspiracy endorsement.

Epistemic Trust Is a Critical Success Factor in Psychosomatic Rehabilitation-Results from a Naturalistic Multi-Center Observational Study

Knowledge about critical success factors underpinning beneficial treatment outcomes in psychosomatic inpatient rehabilitation is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of patients' epistemic stance in relation to the improvement of psychological distress during rehabilitation. In this naturalistic longitudinal observational study, n = 771 patients completed routine assessments for psychological distress (BSI-18), health-related quality of life (HRQOL; WHODAS), and epistemic trust (ETMCQ) before (T1) and after (T2) psychosomatic rehabilitation. Patients were grouped as best, average, and worst responders based on their mean BSI-18 changes during treatment, and their mean change in epistemic trust, mistrust, and credulity was compared using repeated measures analyses of variance (rANOVAs). No associations of performance with sex (p = 0.09), age (p = 0.11), or relationship status (p = 0.58) were found. Best responders reported significantly improved epistemic trust (p = 0.001) and reduced epistemic mistrust (p < 0.001), whereas worst responders reported a significant increase in epistemic mistrust (p < 0.001) and credulity (p < 0.001). Average responders did not change for either epistemic trust (p = 0.11), mistrust (p > 0.99), or credulity (p = 0.96). Our results underscore the role of the epistemic stance in psychosomatic and psychotherapeutic treatments. These results help to better understand what might determine psychosomatic rehabilitation outcomes and indicate the role of epistemic trust as a critical success factor.

Longitudinal Association Between Child Psychological Abuse and Neglect and Academic Achievement in Chinese Primary School Children: A Moderated Mediation Model

To investigate the relationships among child psychological abuse and neglect (CPAN), children’s learning engagement, family socioeconomic status (family SES), and children’s academic achievement, 271 children (M_age = 9.41 ± 0.81 years old) and their parents participated in this study with a longitudinal design. Results revealed that learning engagement at T1 mediated the relationship between CPAN at T1 and academic achievement at T2 when gender, age, grade, and academic achievement at T1 were under control. Family SES at T1 moderated the relationship between children’s learning engagement at T1 and academic achievement at T2. The association between learning engagement and academic achievement was stronger among children from lower family SES. Our findings highlighted the negative impact of CPAN and the critical role of learning engagement in children’s academic achievement, especially for those from low SES families.

The Long-Term Effects of Early Childhood Resilience Profiles on School Outcomes among Children in the Child Welfare System

This study aimed to examine the association between early childhood resilience profiles and later school outcomes (academic achievement and school involvement) among children in the U.S. child welfare system. This study compared 827 children aged 3-5 years in three latent profile groups (poor emotional and behavioral resilience, low cognitive resilience, and multi-domain resilience) to their baseline profiles using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-II). At the three-year follow-up, children with low emotional and behavioral resilience profiles and children with the multi-domain resilience profile had significantly higher basic reading skills, reading comprehension, and math reasoning compared to children with low scores on the cognitive resilience profile. Furthermore, children with the multi-domain resilience profile had significantly higher levels of emotional school engagement than did those with the low emotional and behavioral resilience profile and considerably higher levels of behavioral school engagement compared to those with the low cognitive resilience profile. The findings highlight the persistent effects of early resilience into the later childhood years. Moreover, our results suggest the need for early identification of and intervention for children with low cognitive or emotional/behavioral resilience during the preschool years to promote academic success and school engagement during the school-age years.

Promising observational instruments of parent-child (0-12 years) interaction within the child protection system: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Parent-child interaction (PCI) is considered a critical environmental factor that affects child development. In the field of child and family intervention, assessment of caregiver-child interaction has great relevance for decision-making.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to report the results of a systematic review of the best observational instruments to assess the quality of PCI, taking into account the most advanced protocols.

METHODS

Firstly, one search was conducted to identify eligible observational instruments, and a second search was conducted to identify studies reporting on the psychometric properties of the instruments previously identified. To assess and rate the quality of the psychometric properties of the tools, the COSMIN (Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments) checklist was applied.

RESULTS

The nine PCI observational tools selected (with category B - promising) are widely used by researchers and clinicians across different stages of childhood. The Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale (2-71 months) obtained the highest rating.

CONCLUSIONS

The most reported and robust psychometric property was inter-rater reliability, but validity evidence is understudied. This systematic review can help clinicians keep up-to-date, provide evidence for policymakers to judge risks and benefits of health care behaviors, as well as assess the evaluation programs in child abuse and neglect context.