Income, family structure, and child maltreatment risk

This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to explore the effects of income, family structure, and public policies on several indicators of child maltreatment. Results suggest that income and family structure affect a family's overall risk of child maltreatment, and that these factors differentially affect various outcome measures. In particular, income impacts routine medical and dental care, the quality of the caregiving environment, and to a lesser extent, spanking behaviors. Single-parent families and families with a biological mother and non-biological father figure tend to have lower quality caregiving environments than mother-father families, and single-mother families with working mothers are at even greater risk of poor caregiving. Finally, this analysis provides some tentative evidence that higher welfare benefits and lower unemployment rates may serve as protective factors for children. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.