NIVEL CARACTERISTICAS

One of the aims of the project has been to gather together up-to-date evidence on the topic of adolescent maltreatment from the UK and international research literature and from official statistics.

The scale of adolescent maltreatment

The evidence gathered on the prevalence and incidence of maltreatment across different age groups confirms that adolescent maltreatment is a substantial issue.

becoming subject to a child protection plan who were aged 10 to 15 varied from 12% to 37% across local authorities in England. These variations are highly unlikely to be the result of differing levels of maltreatment across

different age groups in different areas and are more likely to be attributable to variations in agency practice in responding to cases of different ages. This was supported by our interviews with practitioners that suggest that

thresholds are very much determined on a local level in response to local issues and resources.

The official statistics also provide some indications of the relative prevalence of different forms of maltreatment. Neglect is the most common reason for being subject to a child protection plan for 10- to 15-year-olds (as is the case for younger children), followed by emotional abuse.

The general picture for England described above is also broadly reflected in statistics from other countries, such as the US, Canada and Australia. Of course, these statistics only relate to cases which have come to the

attention of statutory agencies. There are relatively few self-report studies of adolescent maltreatment. However the evidence that does exist suggests substantial levels of maltreatment of all types within this age group. In Chapter 2 we also reviewed evidence of significant levels of under-reporting of maltreatment by young people which points to a likely gap between known cases and true prevalence rates. Our interviews with young people also back this up – suggesting that there are still significant barriers to self reporting. Data presented in Chapter 5 on referral data highlights that self referral to children’s social care services is extremely low.

Definitions – a developmental perspective

In our review of literature we draw attention to the importance of adopting a developmental perspective to the issue of child maltreatment. Parental behaviours which might be deemed abusive or neglectful for a very young child (e.g. allowing a child of two outside the home without knowledge of whereabouts) would be considered appropriate and normative for most older young people, although it is also important to acknowledge that this will vary according to the young person’s maturity and abilities.

Thus definitions of maltreatment also need to incorporate developmental considerations. There are very positive indications that this issue is being considered in national and local policy development in England. The most recent version of the Government’s Working Together guidance focuses on age-specific issues; and the Core Assessment Records drawn up as part of the Assessment Framework are age banded. Analysis of local threshold and other documents also shows evidence of age-related guidance being drawn up at local area levels.

The current research has raised some important issues to consider here. There is a need to consider age-sensitive issues within existing definitions of

maltreatment, and also to consider whether the boundaries of existing

definitions might exclude some issues faced by particular age groups. There seems to be a good deal of consensus in the literature and the views

gathered through this study that older young people face a wider range of risks than younger children due to their lifestyles (e.g. e-safety) and increasing independence (risks outside the home). The recent change in language in England from ‘child protection’ to ‘safeguarding’ has been positive in

recognising some of these additional risks. There is still work to be done to consider the implications of this broadening perspective on risk and

protection. For example, should the act of forcing a young person to leave home under the age of 16 be considered as child neglect?

The context of adolescent maltreatment

Another key issue for the study of adolescent maltreatment is to understand the key contexts in which such maltreatment takes place. This includes the identification of potentially causal factors.

There has been substantial research on the contexts of child maltreatment in general, but our literature review found relatively little evidence specifically on contextual factors related to adolescents. It is likely that many of the key issues may be relatively similar across all age groups. However this is unlikely to be the whole picture. Specific contextual factors which are more likely to occur during adolescence may need more specific consideration. Young people are more likely to have experience family change as they grow older and the consequences of this experience may be associated with maltreatment amongst adolescents. For example if there is a link between family change and emotional neglect then this factor will be more salient for older young people. At this age, due to their increased competence, young people may be more likely to take on a caring role within the family – another factor which is known to correlate with neglect. Due to their typically greater independence and mobility, environmental factors related to the local area may also be more salient as risk factors for adolescent maltreatment. Finally, friendships and peer relationships may be particularly important factors for older young people both directly (peer to peer abuse) and also indirectly through peer associations drawing young people into risky situations. On the

neglect. On the other hand, as our current study and previous research has indicated, risk-taking behaviours by young people can also be a symptom of earlier maltreatment. Our research has highlighted the additional challenges which this complex context of adolescent maltreatment presents for

professionals.

The consequences of adolescent maltreatment

More is known about the consequences of adolescent maltreatment, both in itself and in comparison with maltreatment of younger children. Our study suggests that older young people are to some extent perceived as more ‘resilient’ to the effects of maltreatment than younger children. However the research evidence does not necessarily support this view.

One key source of information is a longitudinal study of a sample of 1,000 young people initially aged around 13 – the Rochester Youth Development Study – conducted in the US from the late 1980s onwards. This study has enabled detailed analysis to be undertaken of the relative impact of

maltreatment experienced at different ages. Overall this analysis suggests that the impact of maltreatment in adolescence (including cases where there was no earlier history of child maltreatment) is more strongly associated with a range of negative outcomes than is childhood-only maltreatment.

Another source of information is the study of parenting styles. There has been considerable research around the impact of the ‘neglectful parenting’ style. The concept of neglectful parenting is broader than current definitions of child neglect but nevertheless provides important pointers regarding the potential impact of neglect. The research suggests negative outcomes across a wide range of areas including physical health, mental health, educational indicators and risk-taking behaviours.

Finally, the recent research on Serious Case Reviews in England has drawn attention to the risks faced by older young people. More than a fifth (22%) of a sample of recent reviews – which related to the death of, or serious harm to, a child or young person - involved young people of secondary school age, half of whom were aged 16 or 17.

These sources of evidence, taken together, provide an indication of the potentially significant short-term and long-term negative consequences of maltreatment of older young people.