The Minnesota Longitudinal Study of Risk and Adaptation (MLSRA) is a landmark prospective, longitudinal study of human development focused on a sample of mothers experiencing poverty and their firstborn children. Although the MLSRA pioneered a number of important topics in the area of social and emotional development, it began with the more specific goal of examining the antecedents of child maltreatment. From that foundation and for more than 40 years, the study has produced a significant body of research on the origins, sequelae, and measurement of childhood abuse and neglect. The principal objectives of this report are to document the early history of the MLSRA and its contributions to the study of child maltreatment and to review and summarize results from the recently updated childhood abuse and neglect coding of the cohort, with particular emphasis on findings related to adult adjustment. While doing so, we highlight key themes and contributions from Dr Dante Cicchetti’s body of research and developmental psychopathology perspective to the MLSRA, a project launched during his tenure as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota.

Informed by the dimensional approach to adversity, this study disaggregated child maltreatment effects to examine how abuse versus neglect influenced cortisol at the baseline assessment and longitudinal changes in diurnal cortisol among a sample of Chinese children and adolescents (N = 312; aged 9–13 years; Mage = 10.80, SD = 0.84; 67% boys). The moderating roles of resilience and sex differences in these associations were also explored. Results revealed distinct effects of abuse versus neglect on diurnal cortisol in girls, but not boys, which varied by the time scale of assessment and type of cortisol measure. Specifically, abuse was associated with girls’ longitudinal changes in awakening cortisol, cortisol awakening response, and diurnal cortisol slope over one year, whereas neglect was associated with girls’ awakening cortisol and cortisol awakening response at the baseline assessment. Further, resilience moderated the effects of abuse on girls’ baseline awakening cortisol and longitudinal changes in diurnal cortisol slope, suggesting both the potential benefits and costs of resilience. Findings support the application of the dimensional approach to research on stress physiology and deepen our understanding of individual differences in the associations between child maltreatment and diurnal cortisol.

This commentary aims to start a debate about various dimensions of social disadvantage and the relationship to child abuse and neglect (CAN). These dimensions include poverty, educational attainment, employment status, sub-standard housing, disadvantaged neighbourhoods and social isolation from family. Other aspects such as mental health issues, domestic violence and substance misuse are compounding factors that are critical influences on the relationship between disadvantage and CAN. New South Wales is used as the exemplar Australian state.

In early 2020, the world as we knew it began to change dramatically and rapidly with the COVID-19 outbreak. Social distancing restrictions and lockdown measures have been the most effective course of action and an inarguably imperative approach at this time. However, in trying to keep the global population safe, social distancing measures unwittingly placed children already experiencing maltreatment and disadvantage in harm’s way. This paper will consider the evidence base which attests to the importance of considering the accumulation of adversity when seeking to understand risk and impact of child maltreatment and disadvantage. Given the unique and unprecedented circumstances which have accompanied the COVID-19 outbreak, and the dearth of research pertaining to the impact of pandemics on child welfare, the paper draws on an emerging body of literature about the effect of natural disasters, conflict and significant global events on child maltreatment. The paper synthesises the research to date in order to call attention to the cumulative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children already experiencing abuse and neglect. The paper concludes with an outline of the implications for practice in the helping professions.

Parental licensing is the idea that parenting competence should be demonstrated prior to adults achieving full parental rights. It is a long-standing idea that is alive among a host of academic philosophers, political scientists and others interested in children’s rights. The question is – is the notion of parental licensing a good idea or is it an extreme authoritarian response to the social problem of child abuse and neglect? The next question is – if parental licensing was in place, who would decide on parental competence, what are the boundaries of competence and how would competence be measured? And what about those adults who are deemed as incompetent? It is worth considering the proposition that, by endorsing the concept of the “best interests of the child” and passing legislation that gives standing to the removal of a child from parental care, by default this constitutes a system of parental licensing.

The relationship between alcohol and other drugs (AOD) misuse and intimate partner violence (IPV) is well established. However, there is a pressing need for knowledge translation in relation to the association between AOD, IPV and child abuse and neglect. A substantial number of research studies and literature reviews on the relationship between AOD and IPV have appeared over the past several decades. However, heterogeneity across the literature reviews and findings, as well as in methodological differences and limitations, may contribute to interpretive difficulties that confound conclusions and/or create confusion among the researchers, practitioners and policy makers who turn to this literature for guidance in their research, treatment and policy decisions. To address this issue, this paper examines the evidence on the topic of AOD and IPV through a focused review-of-reviews methodology to compare and synthesise the overall patterns of findings derived from several reviews that have investigated the literature on the relationship between AOD and IPV. The results derived from the review-of-reviews are synthesised and integrated to present an understanding of the association between AOD and IPV in reference to child abuse and neglect. The limitations for research and practice are discussed, placing particular focus on knowledge translation in relation to child welfare policy and parents and children involved with child protection authorities.

Child abuse and neglect is a preventable public health issue, yet a complex global phenomenon with considerable adverse impacts on children, families, health and social services, as well as the Australian community. Despite the widespread adverse impact of child abuse and neglect, the research in this field within Australian child welfare systems is relatively scarce. What is needed is to understand the various challenges, barriers and limitations that face child abuse and neglect researchers and impede methodologically rigorous research within child welfare systems in Australia. This paper provides a brief overview of the key methodological limitations, barriers and challenges, as well as the strengths of the research methods used in studying child abuse and neglect. This paper also explores the potential gains from adopting a national translational research framework. Innovative translation of research and knowledge into effective care system responses and evidence-based practices for children remains a pressing issue. Further advances in Australian research and the evidence base will require substantial investment in research and evaluation activities, with a new emphasis on translational research and active collaboration between researchers and practitioners. Finally, this paper concludes with key recommendations and directions for future Australian-based research with the ultimate goal of improving practices and policies.

In Australia, many researchers and policy makers believe that statutory child protection systems are overburdened and ineffective. The way forward, they suggest, is a public health model of child protection. A public health approach comprises four steps: (1) collecting surveillance data; (2) establishing causes and correlations; (3) developing and evaluating interventions; and (4) disseminating information about the effectiveness of intervention activities to the public health community. However, in Australia there are no reliable surveillance data. There is no information about ‘person’. Information is not collected about the characteristics of children (e.g., ethnicity) and parents (e.g., mental illness) reported to child protection services. Data are not comparable across place. This is because the states and territories have their own child protection legislation, definitions and data recording methods. Data are not comparable over time. This is because many jurisdictions have introduced new data recording systems over recent years. This paper concludes that it is essential to develop an effective child protection surveillance data system. This will ensure that services are located in areas and targeted towards populations in greatest need. It will enable large-scale evaluation of the effectiveness of prevention and intervention activities.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that at 31 December 2011 there were 5,098,694 children and young people in Australia under the age of 18 years, while for the period 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's report on child protection indicates that there were 48,420 substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect in Australia. The likelihood is that almost 95 (94.96) per cent of Australian children and young people were not abused or neglected in that period; and this is a cause for national celebration. These figures are good reason to praise the parents and caregivers of the 5,050,274 children who were not abused or neglected. We argue that there is a need for an emphasis in the political debate about child protection that focuses on children who are not abused, in order for the issue of child abuse and neglect to be placed in proper perspective. The lack of perspective in the current dialogue simply results in an unending demand for more resources for detection-focused services. Instead, there has to be increased emphasis on preventative services for vulnerable families who fail to meet community child-rearing standards. These exacting standards of parenting can only be achieved through parent education and the provision of intensive and extensive family support services, combined with sensitive monitoring of at-risk families. Accordingly, this article is written in a dissenting voice.

Local and international research suggests an overrepresentation of young people leaving state out-of-home care in the youth justice system. A range of factors appear to contribute to this correlation including child abuse and neglect, placement instability, experiences of residential care, and unsupported transitions from care. This article presents the findings of a Victorian pilot study conducted in partnership with Whitelion, a not-for-profit organisation specifically offering support to ‘young people involved with or at risk of involvement with the youth justice and/or out-of-home care and leaving care services’ (Whitelion, 2012), to examine the interrelationship between the child protection and youth justice systems, and particularly to explore the processes that take place when young people involved in the youth justice system leave state care. A series of interviews and focus groups with Whitelion workers were used to explore whether leaving care plans and policies address and minimise involvement with youth justice; the role, if any, of formal consultations by child protection services with youth justice regarding this group of care leavers; and the ongoing role of youth justice postcare, particularly when young people are in custody at the time of their exit from care. Some significant implications for policy and practice are identified.

The purpose of this study was to analyse and describe the experiences of adolescents who had been maltreated by their parents in childhood. Child maltreatment was defined as physical, psychological or sexual abuse or neglect caused by parents or other primary caregivers of the child. Data were collected from seven adolescents, aged 14–19 years, who had been maltreated within their family of origin for many years. Interviews employed broad themes pertaining to family life, maltreatment experiences and the family's strengths and problems. The data were analysed by qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in a description of the adolescents' experiences of maltreatment and of the consequences of maltreatment as perceived by the young people themselves. The consequences included connections between maltreatment and family life and direct consequences for the adolescents themselves. These results aid our understanding of child maltreatment and its manifestations from the viewpoint of adolescents within the family. An improved understanding of their views should make it possible to develop nursing care of these children and their families as part of multidisciplinary work. The role of nursing is central to this work, because one of the goals of nursing is to improve the well-being of families and individuals. However, further research is still needed to add to our knowledge of child maltreatment from the adolescents' viewpoint.