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The Placement Trajectories of Youth Served by Child Protection for Sexual Abuse

Authors:
Tonino Esposito at Université de Montréal
Tonino Esposito
Ashleigh Delaye at Assembly of First Nations
Ashleigh Delaye
  • Assembly of First Nations
Martin Chabot at Université de Montréal
Martin Chabot
Nico Trocmé at McGill University
Nico Trocmé
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Abstract and Figures

This paper examines the long-term placement trajectories of youth aged 10 to 17 years at initial investigation, with attention to the comparative trajectories of youth served for sexual abuse gender differences, and the mediating effects of behavioral difficulties experienced post investigation. This analysis draws administrative data on all youth served (N = 77,579) by child protection agencies in Quebec for the first time in the last 12 years. Hazard results suggest that youth served for CSA do not enter out-of-home care as quickly as other youth and once in out-of-home care, it takes longer for these youths to reunify with their families. Behavioral problems drive the increased risk of placement for all served youth but play a more influential role for youth served for CSA. Understanding the effects of CSA on youth placed in out-of-home care can help practitioners and program implementers offer more comprehensive and targeted services to improve reunification timelines, and possibly avoid out-of-home placement and placement instability.
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Placement Trajectories of Youth Served by Child Protection
for Sexual Abuse
Toni n o E s p o sito
1
&Ashleigh Delaye
2
&Martin Chabot
3
&Nico Trocmé
2
&
Delphine Collin-Vézina
2
&Megan Simpson
2
Published online: 27 December 2016
#Springer International Publishing 2016
Abstract This paper examines the long-term placement tra-
jectories of youth aged 10 to 17 years at initial investigation,
with attention to the comparative trajectories of youth served
for sexual abuse gender differences, and the mediating effects
of behavioral difficulties experienced post investigation. This
analysis draws administrative data on all youth served (N=
77,579) by child protection agencies in Quebec for the first
time in the last 12 years. Hazard results suggest that youth
served for CSA do not enter out-of-home care as quickly as
other youth and once in out-of-home care, it takes longer for
these youths to reunify with their families. Behavioral prob-
lems drive the increased risk of placement for all served youth
but play a more influential role for youth served for CSA.
Understanding the effects of CSA on youth placed in out-of-
home care can help practitioners and program implementers
offer more comprehensive and targeted services to improve
reunification timelines, and possibly avoid out-of-home place-
ment and placement instability.
Keywords Child sexual abuse .Out-of-home placement .
Placement instability .Family reunification .Clinical
administrative data .Longitudinal analysis
For the most part, focus on childhood sexual abuse (CSA)
research has centred on prevalence, adult memories of CSA,
and the short and long-term outcomes and psychotherapeutic
approaches to treatment. Child protectionresearchonCSAhas
focused primarily on investigation, prosecution, and treatment,
but there is surprisingly little information about out-of-home
placement. Where longitudinal studies have sought to under-
stand the relationship between maltreatment and child protec-
tion services, sexual abuse is often categorized under the gen-
eral rubric of abuse, failing to provide specific information on
the long-term service trajectories for these youths. This study
attempts to address this gap by following the placement trajec-
tories of all youth aged 10 to 17 years served by child protection
authorities in the last 12 years, with special attention given to
the comparative placement trajectories of youth served
1
for
CSA. Specifically, this study focuses on when and for whom:
1) placement occurs; 2) changes in placement take place; and,
3) family reunification is most likely to occur.
Background
Finkelhor (1994) laid the groundwork on international epide-
miology for CSA and found prevalence rates from 7 to 36%
for women and 3–29% for men over 19 countries. A follow up
epidemiology scale study by Pereda et al. (2009) found a
similarity in CSA prevalence distribution with averages of
18–20% for females and of 8–10% for males. The lowest rates
1
Youth served by childprotection agencies refers to youth 10-17 years receiv-
ing child protection services for reasons of suspected or confirmed abuse,
neglect, or severe behavioral difficulties. Child protection services refer to
actions that are least disruptive for youth, and may include: 1) offering support
services to the youth and family; 2) protecting the youth through placement
with relatives, a foster family or specialized residential resources, and; 3)
clinical monitoring of the youth’s care.
*Tonino Esposito
tonino.esposito@umontreal.ca
1
School of Social Work, University of Montreal, 3150, Jean-Brillant,
Montreal, QC H3T1J7, Canada
2
School of Social Work, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
3
Center for Research on Children and Families, McGill University,
Montreal, Canada
Journ Child Adol Trauma (2017) 10:63–76
DOI 10.1007/s40653-016-0128-6
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.

Supplementary resource (1)

Esposito et al (2017 - PREPRINT) The placement trajectories of CSA youth
Data
December 2016
Tonino Esposito · Ashleigh Delaye · Martin Chabot · Nico Trocmé · Megan Simpson
... For example, adolescent girls are up to six times more likely to report poor general health after being exposed to sexual or intimate partner violence than their non-exposed peers (Decker et al., 2014). While for male youth in particular, problematic placement trajectories are linked with childhood sexual abuse as these experiences increase the likelihood of out-of-home placement settings, placement instability, and placement in locked care facilities, and these outcomes have been linked with mental health and clinical problems in the period directly following aging out ( Esposito et al., 2014Esposito et al., , 2017Hickey, McCrory, Farmer, & Vizard, 2008;Leathers & Testa, 2006). Children and youth involved in the justice system who report more general physical health problems, injuries, and hospitalizations are more likely to have increased exposure to partner violence, physical and sexual abuse during childhood (Odgers, Robins, & Russell, 2010). ...
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