The association between early reports to Child Protective Services and developmental trajectories through middle childhood

Background: Longitudinal studies on resilience among children who have experienced maltreatment indicate that resilience is multi-dimensional. However, most research consolidates diverse developmental domains comprising resilience into a single score, which does not allow for detection of potentially heterogeneous associations between risk factors and outcomes of resilience processes. Objective: This study seeks to improve our understanding of the association between early child maltreatment and development through middle childhood (6-12 years) using individual domains considered to be outcomes of resilience processes. Participants and setting: Participants are 499 children from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. Methods: We used latent growth curve models to explore patterns of socialization and daily living skills, and internalizing and externalizing behaviors - outcomes of resilience processes - across three time points in middle childhood, and their association with early maltreatment, defined as referral to Child Protective Services (CPS) before age 6. Results: In fully adjusted models, children experiencing early maltreatment had poorer baseline scores in activities of daily living (-4.22, 95% CI [-7.38, -1.46]) and externalizing behavior (2.95, 95% CI [1.05, 4.86]), but maltreatment was not associated with change over time in these domains. However, maltreatment was associated with increases in internalizing behavior over time (0.42, 95% CI [0.06, 0.77]). Conclusion: Heterogeneity in patterns of association between maltreatment and outcomes of resilience processes support the utility of examining developmental domains individually, versus as a composite, to identify specific targets for intervention.

Automated summary

This study examines the relationship between early child maltreatment and development in middle childhood, finding that maltreatment is associated with lower baseline scores in activities of daily living and externalizing behavior, but not with changes over time. However, maltreatment is linked to increases in internalizing behavior over time, highlighting the importance of examining developmental domains individually for intervention targets.