Prevention of child abuse and neglect and improvements in child development

The general aim of the study was to evaluate the implementation of a section in the Danish Social Assistance Act, which encourages the local authorities to offer families services in order to support children at risk of child maltreatment. The specific purpose of the present paper is to answer the question: Will children’s socio-psychological development be improved when abuse and neglect is reduced? A sample of 1,138 children was drawn at random among first time cases starting in 1998. Subsequently, about 80 per cent were evaluated by local caseworkers on the basis of a standardized questionnaire covering a period of four years. The most damaging family conditions seemed to be psychological maltreatment, physical/sexual abuse, and neglect. Maltreated children were more often in a depressed state, unhappy, socially isolated, or they had an eating disorder, inadequate or under nutrition, suicidal tendencies, lack of concentration, or disturbed behaviour, compared to those children who were not exposed to abuse and neglect. If parental behaviour improved, effects on children’s well-being were also observed and positive changes in children’s socio-psychological development were identified. The questionnaire explored the impact of various interventions, including services geared to strengthen the child’s network, but results indicated that the child displayed reduced risk of reactive symptoms only when parental behaviour improved and abuse and neglect were reduced