Material hardship and child neglect risk amidst COVID-19 in grandparent-headed kinship families: The role of financial assistance.
Child Abuse Negl
; 121: 105258, 2021 11.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1363928
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
COVID-19 has exacerbated material hardship among grandparent-headed kinship families. Grandparent-headed kinship families receive financial assistance, which may mitigate material hardship and reduce child neglect risk.OBJECTIVE:
This study aims to examine (1) the association between material hardship and child neglect risk; and (2) whether financial assistance moderates this association in a sample of kinship grandparent-headed families during COVID-19. PARTICIPANTS ANDSETTING:
Cross-sectional survey data were collected from a convenience sample of grandparent-headed kinship families (not necessarily child welfare involved) (N = 362) in the United States via Qualtrics Panels online survey.METHODS:
Descriptive, bivariate, and negative binomial regression were conducted using STATA 15.0.RESULTS:
Experiencing material hardship was found to be associated with an increased risk of child neglect, and receiving financial assistance was associated with a decreased risk of child neglect in the full sample and a subsample with household income > $30,000. Receiving financial assistance buffered the negative effect of material hardship on child neglect risk across analytic samples, and receiving SNAP was a significant moderator in the full sample. Among families with a household income ≤ $30,000, receiving SNAP and foster care payments was associated with a decreased risk of child neglect, while receiving TANF and unemployment insurance was associated with an increased risk of child neglect. Among families with household income > $30,000, only receiving SNAP was associated with a decreased risk of child neglect.CONCLUSIONS:
This study suggests the potential importance of providing concrete financial assistance, particularly SNAP and foster care payments, to grandparent-headed kinship families in efforts to decrease child neglect risk during COVID-19.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Child Abuse
/
Grandparents
/
Financial Stress
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Child Abuse Negl
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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