Short-term services and risk factors associated with psychological abuse recurrence in Japanese child guidance centers.

BACKGROUND

Few studies have examined the factors that contribute to recurrence of child psychological abuse and the short-term services associated with such recurrence.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to contribute to the development of preventive measures for the recurrence of psychological abuse against children.

PARTICIPANTS AND

SETTING

The study examined the records of 428 perpetrators involved in cases that were resolved through 1-2 short-term services after Child Guidance Centers in Chiba Prefecture received reports of psychological abuse.

METHODS

A Cox proportional hazards model was employed, with the recurrence of child psychological abuse within one year as the dependent variable. The content of short-term services, perpetrator and victim characteristics, and risk factors (a total of 17 items) were included as predictor variables.

RESULTS

Several factors were found to be significantly associated with the recurrence of psychological abuse in children: "No contact with perpetrator" (HR = 2.11, 95 % CI: 1.12-3.96, p = 0.02), "Single parent" (HR = 2.20, 95 % CI: 1.08-4.48, p = 0.03), "Economic hardship" (HR = 2.79, 95 % CI: 1.19-6.55, p = 0.02), "Perpetrator's abuse victimization during childhood" (HR = 3.44, 95 % CI: 1.88-6.29, p < 0.001), and "Previous year's IPV offenses" (HR = 2.02, 95 % CI: 1.17-3.47, p = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

It was suggested that direct services targeting perpetrators and services addressing perpetrator-specific risk factors may be associated with reducing the recurrence of child psychological abuse.